Card or flowers? - how about both!

Another commissioned card and this time I was asked to make a card for a friends mum who was retiring from work. She said she didn't want a cute image and I was instantly stuck!! I don't know why I keep taking orders for cards 'cos I always feel pressured when I'm making them..

I decided I would experiment! Not always a good idea!!! But I think this time it worked out!
I thought a bouquet of flowers might be nice on a card, made using the paper flowers I've been doing lately. So I pulled out my flower nesties, my retro flower punch and my tiny daisy punch - along with a truck load of brads and my Basic Grey Sugared paper pad and got going!

This is what I ended up with:

I edged each layer of the flowers with tattered rose distress inks (I love that name!) and added a few punched leaves - I got a work-out trying to get those beasties punched! I was pressing and pressing for ages with all my might and it wouldn't go through, so I put it on the floor and stood on it - after a bit of dancing around on it the leaves were eventually born! Beautiful they were too!
I also added a few bits of pink wire which I curled around my pokey tool - I got this idea from Rach's fabby blog when she curled the stems of little flowers - thanks for the tip!!
I didn't get a close up as the battery died in my camera as I was taking the pictures and I didn't have time to get it charged before the card was being collected.

For the paper wrapping, I marked the centre at the bottom of a piece of 6x6 dp and scored from there up to each corner and cut away most of the excess - just leaving enough to stick it to the card. When I stuck it to the card I left it so as it sat out from the card and when I attached the flowers I overlapped them on the edge (which I added a border beautified with a MSBP) so as the wrapper looked bubbly and 3d.

I made a tag with my label nesties and curled it a bit and attached it with foam pads for dimention.

This is the inside:

I also had to make a box to put it in - I didn't want all the flowers to get squished in an envelope!
Lined with tissue paper (which is looking a brighter and wrong shade of green)

So now I have to get stuck in to my friends wedding invitations - we got all the stuff ordered last night (it's nice to go shopping with someone else's credit card!!) including over 2000 tiny swarovski crystals which I need to stick each one individually!! Fun!

Just Magnolia.

I couldn't wait to get stuck into the gorgeous sketch from the very first "Just Magnolia" challenge - and I started to think I wasn't going to have time to do it, but I got there eventually!

Here the card I made for my aunt/godmother for her birthday:

This is the fabby sketch:

I used Tilda with Tag and I used a little hello stamp - I think it's alotta. The scrummy looking bun is also Magnolia - looks good enough to eat (although I was about to colour the icing with the greeny colours and then thought that wouldn't look too appetising!!) The papers I used are Bloom & Grow by My Minds Eye. I also added a little glass bead from a local bead shop.
Here's a close up:

Here's the inside - also following the sketch:

I'd just like to thank everyone for their lovely comments. I read them all and it really means a lot to know that someone has gone to the bother of not only looking at my work, but then leaving a comment on it too - so thank you!

A card for a very sad day...

A school friend of my 12 year old sister was tragically killed when she was hit by a car last week, and my mum thought it would be nice to send a card from Rachael. What do you make??!!
I thought about an angel, and I knew it would have to be muted colours. I didn't have an appropriate angel and Rachael wanted me to use my pro-markers.

This is what I came up with:

I found it really hard to do such a plain card, but I know I couldn't add anything more.

I left the inside very plain so as the words would mean more:

She wrote: "Our friendship was short, but the memories will last forever". This was what my friend wrote on a card to me when my little brother died when I was 15 (he was 19 months) - those words say so little but mean so much.
I hope that it brings some comfort to the family when they look back through their cards over time.

Another Wedding card with money wallet.

I made a card for my ma 'n' da to give to my cousin - who got married yesterday.

I actually used decoupage on the card - and not a stamp in sight!! I've had this decoupage sheet for ages and thought if I don't use it now I never will!!
Here's the card:

I followed the sketch from Mojo Monday

I thought it went perfectly with the twisted decoupage! (which looks a little skew wif here - it must be the angle I took the photo at.... no, really!)

And I continued the sketch on the inside:

I made this money wallet to go with the card:

And here's the whole lot together:

The wedding went really well and they all looked stunning! The weather was good too, although it was a bit windy.
I was exhausted, partly because I was still making some last minute order of service booklets the night before!
Now I need to get stuck in to make the invitations for my best friends wedding - this is the first time I've had 2 weddings in one year - stressed is not the word!!

Kathrina's Candy!

Check out Katherina's fabulous blog candy!!
It's the entire Whiff of Joy summer stamp kit - twice!!
Yes, 2 people have the chance to win!!
Fantastic!

A Wedding Card.

My cousin is getting married tomorrow and I almost forgot to make cards for her as I have been so busy making her wedding stationary!

So I made this card following last weeks sketch from the Whiff of Joy challenge (when I started making it I would've been on time - but now I've missed it! )

Here's the sketch:

I coloured the gorgeous image with my pro-markers and went over the stamped sentiment with clear stardust pen.

I followed the sketch again for the inside:

Today, I need to deliver the order of services (and my card) to the bride and then go to the hairdressers.
I'll be doing all this in my BMW!! My car is currently in being fixed and the courtesy car they've given me is a 1 year old BMW! It's nice to see what the beemer's like - but I prefer my mini.

A quick post...

Very quick here as I have a million and one things to do and it's already late...

I made this for an image swop on the MAC forum.

I followed the sketch from Friday sketchers:

Happy Birthday Sinead

It was my sister's birthday yesterday, so I thought I'd use the oppurtunity to bring out my -yet unused - Gorjuss Girls!
I have to say, I thoroughly enjoyed colouring them.

Here's the 8x8 card I made:

The card blank is from Craftwork Cards, as are the little card candy spot things. I coloured my gorgeous girl with my pro-markers. the papers are basic grey Sultry and the brown velvetty spotty paper is Doodlebug Designs. I used my new retro flower punch for the flowers.

I used the sketch from Tiets at The Sugar Bowl:

Here's the inside:

The colour theme I used fits the challenge at Cute Card Thursday which is marshmallows and chocolate - which funnily enough is what you call the colours of the set of card candy that I used! So it was perfect!

I hope you all had a lovely Easter - and didn't eat too much chocolate!

Happy Easter!

Just thought I'd do a very quick post to wish averyone a Happy Easter!
I hope you've all had a lovely day so far and enjoying the fabulous weather (it's gorgeous here anyway!) and that the rest of the Easter break will be just as enjoyable!

Get Well Soon, Mummy

I finally got round to making a card for my ma, it's hard work being a carer - I'm so thankful that this is only a short term thing, I don't know how people can do it full time with no sign of getting better.

I had a hoke through my stamps to see what image I could use on the card - and I don't have any sick looking stamps (if you know what I mean! lol!) The best I could do was to use this Pollycraft stamp:

With the words "You fell over!" and on the inside I wrote "And then got plastered!"

Here's the front of the card:

I followed the sketch from A Spoon Full of Sugar:

And I used my flower nesties again!

I also used some of my brand spanking new nesties!! For the image and the wee florishes are shapeabilities too!

This is the inside with some of my new shapes in there too:

I haven't used this in ages!

My mum sponsored my cousin who made her confirmation and she wanted me to make a bookatrix for her - I haven't done a bookatrix in donkeys ages so I said ok. To tell the truth, I'd sort of gone off bookatrixes, I think there's only a limited amount you can do with them (although I'm sure some of you v talented blogger out there could prove me v wrong!)
I picked out some lovely papers and got going - and I thoroughly enjoyed making it! I was really pleased with how it turned out - and I'd never attached a charm to one before and I think that really made it!

Here it is:

Here's a close-up of the charm with a little cluster of beads that I put together:

I think making a box for a card really makes it too - and you sort of have to with a bookatrix!

She also wanted a money wallet to go along with the card, so I made this:

This is it opened out:

And here's the whole ensemble:

I'm not sure when I'm going to be able to do much more to blog as I'm staying at home to help my mum and I don't know how much time I'll have to make anything. I'll try my best though!