Challenge 125 Crafty Cardmakers & more - Spring has sprung

Marlene is hosting for us today and would like to see your Spring themed creations. So that could be a new life (baby) either animal or human, spring flowers, soft spring colours etc.

 I've gone for the new baby - especially since for the first time in ages I got the opportunity to do a pink card!  

I used my favourite Presscut stepper card die, a Sweet Dixie pram and rattle die and some card and embellishments from my stash. 


I love this stepper card die - it's just so versatile!  Also, it includes the dies to add the decorative layers.  I kept this card comparatively simple, just using a plain pink card from my stash (it has a linen texture) as the base layer.

I cut the pram and rattle out of centura pearl card, cut with great ease using my cut n boss machine.  It cut very well, with just one pass.  I used some candi to highlight the wheels of the pram, and the bar across the bottom of the card, to which I added the baby's name. 

I used a small best wishes sentiment from my stash, and finally, added a button and bow, which I stuck on with my hot glue gun.

Challenge 134, Crafty Cardmakers and more–A special woman

How fast is this year flying by?  I can’t believe it is nearly the middle of March and  it’s time for another challenge at Crafty Cardmakers and more.  Pamellia is hosting this one, and as Mother's Day is right around the corner she would like to see your creations for a Special Woman.  They don't have to be Mother's Day cards though, as long as they are for that special lady.

My card is for one of my friends to give to her mum – sadly, I lost my mum almost 3 years ago, so I don’t make one for myself any more.  She asked me to make it a super special one this year, as her mum is battling cancer and has had a really rough time since last Mother’s Day.

So this one is a biggie that needs a box!  I made an 8 inch square base card, and layered onto that with some spotty double sided card I had bought some time ago from Crafters Companion.  I cut a frame out of the same card (using the other side) and attached it to the card base using some pieces of card 5 x 1.5 inches, scored and folded at 1/2 inch and 1 inch to raise it from the base.

I used an image from a Debbi Moore cd (a freebie given away with a magazine) of butterflies for the centre of the base card, and printed off some extra butterflies which I cut out and along with the butterflies on the base, sparkled using my wink of stella clear brush pen. 

I used some flower dies from my stash to cut out some flowers along with a new purchase from Britannia Dies (rose leaves strip) to cut out my leaves, all in thin white card, which I coloured with distress inks.  I shaped the flowers with a ball tall, before spritzing them all with a docrafts gold spritzing ink.  I used some self adhesive pearls for the centre of the flowers, and arranged them on the corner of my frame, using my spiffy new Bosch cordless glue gun. (love it!)

I attached some gold chiffon ribbon to the other bottom corner of the frame and stuck a double bow onto it.

I put the cut out butterflies on the frame too, and then decided that the small ones needed a bit more bling – so I used stickles to make the glitter more obvious.

Using a scrap of offcut spotty card, I stamped the word MUM with a brown stazon ink.  When it was dry, I cut the letters out and stuck them on the card using silicone glue, and then glossed them with glossy accents.

Finally, on a piece of scrap white card, I stamped the greeting in the same brown stazon, before fussy cutting it out, and  toning it down with walnut and a pink distress ink.  I went round the edge of the greeting with some Pebeo empire gold gilding wax and stuck it onto the frame with silicone glue.

I was really pleased with the flowers – I love the way they look and I think it’s one of my favourite things to do.  And of course, I love the butterflies, too…