Going Bananas!!

Hello!

This is my final card of my 'cultural' set and I kept it a fun and whimsical one!  The monkey is a new Alota image I received in the mail - isn't he adorable!!  The banana skins and sentiment are images I received from my dear friend Rachel - thanks so much (I think I might just have to get them now to go with this monkey)!!  The corner leaf stamp is Magnolia which I believe I received last summer in their Summer Club package - this is the first time I've inked it up and I love how it works with this card.  I coloured everything with copics, trimmed all the images out and popped the monkey and sentiment up on pop dots to add some dimension to the card.  The back panel is plain brown kraft cardstock which I distressed the edges and ran through the cb embossing folder 'floral screen'.

This is a quick view of the inside - kept it very simple and just stamped the leaf corner and coloured it in.  The sentiment is from Gina K.  I didn't have very much time to complete this card so given the time restraints I'm quite pleased with the final result!  My boys loved it - they thought it was a very cool card!  :)  

Thanks for coming by and paying me a visit today - I love to see you here and especially love to read your comments!  Please let me know that you've come as I always love to return the favour and visit your blog - it's so thrilling to me to check out new blogs and see new talent!

Hugs,

Danielle x

Sketch Saturday - Cupcake Passion!

Hello!

Today I'm posting my DT card for The Paper Passion this week.  I received this fabulous Unity stamp with 4 cupcake designs - talk about FUN!!!  I focused on just one of the images and used this fabulous sketch layout from the Sketch Saturday challenge blog.  With so much layering to the sketch I wanted to keep the image a simple focal point.  I stamped and trimmed the image twice and coloured with my copics.  I then trimmed out the icing from the second image and popped it up with dimensionals.  I used my Dimensional Magic (Crystal Lacquer) to create the glaze on the icing.  Once it had dried I used my pink Stickles to add some sparkle.

The papers are LYB 'Love Letters' as well as plain beige, white and hot pink cardstock.  The sentiment is from The Stamp Barn and the polka dot organza ribbon is from The Paper Passion. Three plain dewdrops in the top left hand corner complete the layout.  Here's a close up of the glaze I used for the icing look.

Thanks for stopping by - I love all your visits and reading your comments - thank you!!!  Be sure to pop on over to The Paper Passion blog and check out all the new and exciting events coming up.  We have a fabulous online crop planned for the first weekend in May to celebrate National Scrapbooking Day - loads of prizes and challenges to be had!! 

Have a great day!

Hugs,

Danielle x

Valentine Chocolates!

Hi there!

I have had this Alota chocolate box stamp inked up and coloured for a while now, I just haven't had the chance to put it on a card! This is one of my new Alota stamps and it is wonderful - I love it! I coloured the Tilda from the New Years Collection in with Distress Inks. The chocolate box was painted with my Twinkling H20's - it has a beautiful shimmer to it! The background paper says 'oh so sweet' all over it - I think it is probably for a baby girl but I thought it worked perfectly with the box of chocolates! I used a panel down the middle of a slightly darker pink to add some contrast and interest. The bottom of the card hasn't shown up to clearly but I have a scalloped panel on the bottom with some gorgeous heart crochet lace sitting on the top. I added a swirl die cut and a prima flower with a felt die cut flower on the top. With a silver brad I adhered a small heart charm to the centre of the flower.

For the inside of the card I used a matching piece of cardstock from the main front panel, adhered a paper doily and used a Labels 1 die cut from spellbinders for my sentiment. I ran a piece of pale pink organza ribbon behind the panel to add a little extra detail. I used 3 little stick-on brads above and below the sentiment.

I was really happy with this card - it turned out so pretty! Thanks for stopping by and taking the time to look and post a comment! I hope you're all enjoying a fabulous day.

Hugs,

Danielle x

Materials Used: Distress Ink colours - Tattered Rose, Aged Mahogany, Vintage Photo
Twinkling H20's - Burnt Umber, Pink Chiffon

Friendship Flower - Viva La Verve Sketch Challenge Card #2

Hello!

I so enjoyed doing the Viva La Verve sketch challenge that I decided to another card! It is such a fun and versatile sketch to use on your card and I decided to try a more classic and polished look. Using black cardstock as a base colour I find adds a very classic touch to any card and I hope I have managed to achieve that look here. Each panel uses the same materials of black, SU! Sky Blue and the designer paper (from a Costco value pack). The card base in SU! Blue Bayou.

I added the black organza ribbon on the top panel and tied a knot. The flower stamp is SU! inked in Memories Black ink on Blue Bayou and cut out on a classic nesties circle. I used a scalloped circle to matt the back. The sentiment is SU! and the final touch, which was the 'twist' in the challenge, I added two metal circle brads.

It is a very simple card but I like all the layers to each panel and the sentiment certainly makes this card usable for any occasion. It will be put in my 'for sale' stock to go to the local store St Elmo's Fire here in Stittsville.

I hope you're all enjoying a wonderful day and thanks for swinging by today!

Hugs

Danielle x

Happy Thoughts!

Happy Monday everyone!

I know this posting probably finds most of you heading back to work after the holidays so I hope it goes well for you. For me, it means my boys are back at school and hopefully I can get myself back on the 'treadmill' (literally) and into the gym and a routine to shed some of the excess holiday pounds that seem to have stuck around, lol!!

This is the first time I'm using this adorable ballet Tilda image - she is so cute! I wanted to use some really pretty muted pinks and purples for this card and found this gorgeous kind of pale cranberry colour in my paper stash! I kept the layout design very simple by using co-ordinating papers and only having the polka dots in the circle. I used the nestabilities to cut out the frame then I ran it through the swiss dots embossing folder. The Prima flowers are white which I added a splash of tombow markers to them - now I'm already starting a wish list for 2009 and an airbrush is something I would really like!! I used a silver brad for their centers. I coloured Tilda in using a mix of tombow markers and Distress Ink pads. Mmmm, now there's another addition to my wish list - I hear so much about Copics I want to try them out too!!

For the ribbon, I used pale pink organza ribbon which I curled then set gently with the heat gun. I love discovering new things and this was one of them - that heating the ribbon will very gently 'melt' the organza ribbon and keep the curl in place. :) Be sure not to overheat the ribbon though! The touch of green is some floral wire covered in green cotton and twisted around a pencil to get the curl. I love the feel it adds to the card. The final touch was adding three pearl brads to the side of Tilda on the white frame. It adds that little bit of 'class' to the card. The Happy Thoughts sentiment comes from The Stamp Barn.

I am so happy with the final result of this card. My niece's birthday is coming up in March (she turns 7) and I think this will be such a perfect card for her so I will just have to make another one!

Thanks for taking the time to stop by today and I hope you all have a fabulous day, whether you get to ink up or not!

Hugs,

Danielle x

40th Birthday Card

Hello there! Thanks for taking the time to stop by today. I've made a 40th Birthday Card for my brother for this posting. I really find making male cards quite challenging as you can't 'fluff' them up too much with ribbons, flowers and all things nice!! Now my brother is into golf in a big way but I wanted to stay away from that as I always make him a golf-themed card! So, I came up with this. It's very simple but I think it works. The dp is from an embossed set from K&Co - it adds some nice dimension to the card.

I wanted to make the card fun and play up the whole turning 40 thing. I love the frog image and I hope he gets a smile from it! The rest of the card is pretty straight forward - I paper-pierced the sides of the Happy Birthday panel to add some interest and used silver brads as the 'musculine' embellishment. The ribbon is a dollar store find. I used dimensionals on the frog on a red nestie circle which adds a great pop of colour to the card.

I hope you enjoy a fabulous Sunday! We are basking in unbelievably mild +8 temperatures and we are seeing green grass again! I'm sure it won't last for long though so I'm off out with a friend for some java and chit-chat!!

Hugs

Danielle x

Sweet Tilda

Good morning all! This is a quick posting for today as I have many errands to run before I get to the gym! My sweetest girlfriend is having her birthday in a few days and I made her this card. This is a new Tilda which just arrived in my Winter Stamp Club pack. She is so sweet and I'm very happy to have this image as I don't have Tilda in this particular pose. I do now!!! :0)

I struggled with putting it together at first but all the pieces just fell into place after having gotten everything out, punched several items out and had spools of ribbon colours everywhere!

It is a simple card as I was in a bit of a hurry to get it into the mail (always seem to be running behind ...) but I know it will be bring a ray of sunshine to my friend on her birthday.

Hope you all have a fabulous day.

Danielle

Edwin Birthday Cards

Hello! I have two male birthdays in the family coming up in the next 2 weeks so thought I'd better get making the cards as I have to mail them overseas! I used Edwin as he's been a little neglected recently as I've made so many cards with Tilda. I used Graffiti Edwin for my nephew's birthday card - he's such a cool dude! This was my first time watercolouring with Distress Ink pads and I have to say it was SO much fun! It is an awesome way to control shading and depth on your image. Yep, you know it's coming - now I want to collect all the colours of the rainbow that Distress Inks come in!!! The wall and graffiti HAPPY BIRTHDAY add to the finished image of Edwin. I cuttlebug embossed circles on the panel behind and used some arrow die cuts to add some 'boy' embellishments to the card.

This card is for my brother and as he lives far away, I thought it would be nice to send him Edwin serving up drinks! My thought behind this was this is the only way I am able to give him a birthday drink from afar! I found this fun designer paper in my stash and used the coluzzle circle to create two circle halves. I added three eyelets and a ribbon tie to add a manly touch. I coloured Edwin with Distress Ink pads and loved the way he turned out! You can't tell on the picture but I used my Sakura clear glitter gel pen to add sparkle to the 'sparkly' in the glasses. I used a simple design but I find male cards quite challenging and I hope this one is appreciated!

Thanks for taking the time to look and hope you enjoy the rest of your Sunday evening!

Danielle