Flowers galore

I have lately been watching a lot of YouTube videos. In one of them Ardyth tried to reason whether she needs a new set of dies or whether she can replicate the look with her existing ones. 

Well, today I wanted to try the same. I pulled out all my single flower dies, applied them on colored papers. And here is one of the results. (I made many, couldn't stop myself...)

 

As it is birthday season and birthday is also a theme in one of the challenges that inspired me today, a birthday card it is.

 

Entering this in the following challenges:

Simon Says Wednesday Challenge: Use Craft Dies 

Everybody Art Challenge: Happy 600! 

AAA Birthday Challenge: Game 85 

A Cut Above: May Challenge 

Fab 'n Funky: #637 Monochromatic

These are the cards I have made so far...

 

There's cake!

 Cake is the theme of the first challenge I was inspired by. I made a cake with two rectangle shapes. To decorate it, I got inspired by a color challenge, but also by a "re-use, recycle" challenge.

The flowers were cut from color paper, the cake decoration from a vellum (or possibly yupo) tag from a swimsuit that I have been saving up for a special project. The printed portion is hiding under the flowers.

Entering it in these lovely challenges:

TGIF Challenge: #tgifc456

Simon Says Monday Challenge: Recycle

Color My Heart Color dare challenge: #584 Six pack

Daring Cardmakers: Floral frenzy

AAA Birthdays: Rainbow / Rainbow colors

Thank you for your visit!

Have a lovely birthday

A floral fabric served as an inspiration for this bold and colorful birthday card. The flowers are cut from paint samples - I love them for their uniform coloring and somewhat glossy finish. The large sentiment has been stamped with white and then embossed with a white embossing powder.

Entering this in the challenges that inspired me today:

AAA Birthday Cards: Game #55, Large sentiment

613 Avenue Create: AG/ Optional: Wet/dry embossing - I chose wet embossing

Cards4 Gals: #212 Embossing wet or dry

Time Out Challenges: #251 Photo inspiration

Eternal sunshine

 Sunshine is what I wish for my summer vacation. Instead, I have been looking at rain clouds. It is a rainy summer up North where I live.Nevertheless, or for that reason, I was inspired by a couple of challenges that called for Vacation themes.

My starting point were the lovely colors of Inspirational challenge. I also got the idea for my starburst layout here - from the beach ball.

I have a lot of gelli prints, so I started by pulling out the vacation-appropriate colors: pink, turq, yellow, orange. Then I stamped "Happy Birthday" onto a cloud, which I placed in the center and flanked by two smaller clouds.

Entering this into these lovely challenges:

 Bastel-Traum: #125 Vacation/ Ferien

Inspirational Challenge: #51 Photo Inspiration

AAA Birthdays: Game #52: Anything Birthday goes

A Place to Start: AG/ Life is a beach - I am playing the AG option

Simon Says Wednesday Challenge: AG

 

Thank you for your visit!

This little piggy -

- wants to say: Happy Birthday!

I have a new piggy die (by Creative Depot) and an old four leaf clover stamp (bought in 2009 at Papersource!!) and now it was time to combine the two. 

I stamped the clover once directly to the card and once on paper, then cut it out and adhered behind the die cut. I colored the clovers in with watercolors, and then some of the background. (Which would have been easier to do beforehand had I thought about it...)

The text is a die cut as well, green peeking behind the pink as a shadow.

Entering this card in the challenges that inspired its creation:

Retro Rubber Challenge: #rrcb209 Summer scenes

Craft Rocket Challenges: #104 Use dies

AAA Birthday: #50 Watercolors

Try Stamping on Tuesday: #612 sketch 

Double Trouble: #141 Something, Anything - Claiming  THING 1 and THING 3 (twice!). 

A special birthday card

Peace, dear friend, peace.

Do you also find it hard to come up with birthday cards for people who have theirs just before Christmas? I do. The seasonal colors somehow creep in. The recipient likes red, so that was a relief.

I recently got a polka dot embossing folder, I figured it would have many uses. I made the background by wax paper embossing transfer (which might have a better name, if so please let me know in the comments). I emboss a wax paper then iron the wax onto white cardstock. The embossed parts leave wax residue on paper, so when you color it in, you get the pattern.

I colored this background in with Festive Berries and Abandoned Coral oxide inks.

Entering this in challenges that inspired me:

Papercraft Challenges: #88 Polka dots

AAA Birthday: #44 Embossing

Coloring Crazy: #49 AG coloring

Winter Wonderland: End of year anything Christmas goes - this is for an almost-on-Christmas birthday gal

and entering in the lovely NBUS challenge #45 as well, since the embossing folder was Never-Before-Used-Schtuff

Birthday wishes in blue

My favorite technique would be stamping and lately I have been acquiring a couple of new Oxide inks. So I paired those two and made a birthday card to a dear friend.

The stamp is an old one from Stampendous, the oxides are Uncharted mariner, Salty ocean and Salvaged patina. The droplets were made with that as well, the center is Spice marmalade.

 

Entering in:

AAA Birthday Challenge: #42 Favorite technique

Seize the Birthday: AG / Clean and Simple

Cardz4Gals: #82 Shades of Blue

Dream Valley Challenges: #279 Favorite Colors

Simon Says Wednesday Challenge: Anything goes