Cake Anyone?

The colours in today's challenge at CAS Colours and Sketches just said "cake" to me. I LOVE cake, and I love making cards with cake too.

Imagine my excitement when I saw the cue word at Addicted to CAS .....

I used an old cupcake embossing folder, which I think I've never actually used before and the So Saffron card stock. I don't actually have Soft Suede ink or card so I have had to make a substitute here, which is allowable under our rules. 

The sentiment is half of an image from the stamp set Big Day, and the red card I made by swiping my Rose Red ink pad over some white card and leaving it to dry

So where is the other half of the sentiment? Why, inside the card, of course!

I'm also entering this card into the birthday challenge at SeizeThe Birthday As I like to play over there when I can, and the optional 'topping' this time is CAS...my favourite style!

Once I had the design idea actually making the card was quite quick, it did take a few experiments  with the colours as to what part of the card I would use. I think it would look good with the brown card stock for the cake and the white for the cup cake case too. I did try to use the Rose Red for the strawberries but couldn't quite get it right. I'd be interested to hear any suggestions of how to do this.

Green For Go

Green is not my favourite colour, well, it depends on the green I suppose- I do love lime green and teal (if that is green) but your average green is not on my list.  Strange, then, that I got the urge this morning when I sat down to craft for the Seize The Birthday challenge to make something with green. This week it is a masculine birthday card  using the same sketch as last week.

Green is one of my husband's favourite colours so perhaps I was thinking of him.  I'm not sure a VW camper would be his top choice but that's what I stamped.  It a Papermania stamp I think, I've had it a while,

I used some chevron DP to give the effect of the panels, I think chevrons are in at the moment, they seem to be very popular. I used Gumball Green and Pear Pizazz for the colour scheme.  You won't see many coloured images here, as I'm not very confident with my markers, I am in awe of anyone who can colour images ( as you will see from many of the comments I leave on other crafters' blogs). This is my best effort!

The circles are soft circle stickers - they look a bit like brads.
Back to the crafting table to make one or two more cards this morning, I think I'll make the most of my day off!

A Bright and Sunny Birthday

It's a gorgeous spring day here in Herefordshire, in the UK.  The birds are singing, the garden is full of flowers and so I was inspired to make a bright and sunny card for this weeks challenge at Seize The Birthday. This is week one for the sketch and so a birthday card for a female is required.

 As soon as I saw this sketch I thought what a great sketch for showcasing paper and I just happen to have some that I wanted to try - Summer Smooches, even the name is full of sunshine! getting the strips just right took a little time.

The stamped 'buttons' are from a set called Bright Blossoms - it all goes together so well! The sentiment takes centre stage and is from Wacky Wishes. 

Cycling in The Hills

Just had an hour free this morning and found a corner on the dining table (husband and son both working there) to make this card for this week's masculine birthday card challenge at Seize The Birthday.  Here's the sketch

and this is the card I made with it

I first made the banner, with Lucky Limeade and Indigo Island.  The clouds are made with a scalloped circle - aren't they lovely and 'fluffy-looking'? Then I stamped the bicycle from Pedal Presents, gently adding some colour and matting onto green CS.  I only have the one size oval punch, so I had to cut out by hand (don't look too closely!) I made the horizontal panel with two thin strips of black CS, stamped the greeting directly onto the card and punched out a scalloped edge using my edgelits die. 

Seize the Cup Cake

We're having a bit of a bake-off at our house this weekend, and I think it may have influenced my card making! My daughter, home from Uni, is baking chocolate -orange cupcakes, cappuccino chocolate eclairs and marshmallow muffins.  Here is my offering - much better for the waist-line.

 I have used the sketch this week from Seize The Birthday challenge blog, and, as it's week one, they would like to see feminine cards.  Here's the sketch, as you can see I've used a square card blank so I've had to change it a little, but isn't it fab - bet you can do all sorts with this one!

I used my cup cake builder punch to paper piece the little cake, and some pink and brown stripey paper from my stash - chocolate and pink is a favourite combination of mine.  I used Naturals White for the card base, as it reminded me a bit more of cookie dough than a basic white. I cut the lacy scalloped edge out of the striped paper.  Inside, I have folder over the 'ribbon' and finished it with a fish-tail (which you can't see) and added a border of coordinating paper which you can just catch a glimpse of in this photo

I think this would be a great card for any of my daughter's friends - they love cup cakes too!

Birthday Sketch for Him

I've had a ball this Easter Sunday, a whole day to craft and spend time with the family too.  I've made several cards that I can't show you yet, as they are future DT projects but here's one I can.  I have made it for the challenge at Seize The Birthday. If you haven't found this blog yet, check it out.

It's a sketch challenge, one week for a feminine card and the same sketch the next week for masculine cards and always for birthdays.  What a great idea to build up your stash of cards.  This week it's a male card and I really want to make more of these, I never have a male card when I need one.

I've made it very CAS, with a cafe au lait type colour scheme.  The large sentiment is one of my favs for cards for men/boys and I've stamped it in Chocolate Chip. I've added the dog, stamped and embossed in Crumb Cake, and popped up on dimensionals - here's a close up so you can see better

I've added a Choc Chip lacey scallop border and will also enter my card in this week's Less Is More, where the challenge is to incorporate scallops into your CAS project. 

Daisies and Dots

Good Morning!  I made my card at 7.45 this morning- yes I was that keen!  You know what it's like when you're lying in bed with an idea in your head that won't go away, so as soon as the boys were on their way to school I crafted.

I have combined two challenges again.  Using the sketch from Seize The Birthday

and the colours from Dynamic Duos

I made a feminine birthday card (this week's challenge at Seize The Birthday). I don't have the exact Stampin' Up shades of pink but I just used one dark and one light shade for my stamping, I had originally planned to use DP but in the end stamped directly onto the card to keep to the colours

Stamps used: Decorate a Daisy and Happiest Birthday Wishes
Embossing Folder - Swiss Dots ( freebie from a magazine)
Pink and white twine

Extraterrestrial Birthday.

I've made a fun card today, inspired by the challenge at CAS,-ology, where the clue word is 'Extraterrestrial'. Do you remember that little felt alien I used on aChristmas card acouple of weeks ago?  Well, here is his little green friend!

I also used the sketch from Seize The Birthday, although I have rotated it.  It's the first time I've entered this challenge, although I've been meaning to, if only to encourage my masculine card making - I live in a house full of males so guess I'm going to need them.

At first I used a white card blank, but then I thought a martian green card would be better. I embossed the card with an EF which has stars and geometric random shapes, very 'alien'  The glitter line adds to the space  theme but the best bit, I think, is that holographic card onto which I have layered my sentiment, printed onto DP. My son says it's very cheesy!
The card is white inside, easy to stamp a Happy Birthday greeting.