Let's do some baking with Lili of the valley

Hi Everyone,

A super quick post today cause I can hear my Little Munchkin stirring in her cot already, she's probably going to wake up any minute now!

Today I'm sharing a quick and easy birthday card with you, with the use of the super cute Lili of the Valley "Mix it and make it" stamp. Aren't these mice simply adorable? Since time for crafting is not something I have plenty of recently, the card is really super simple. But hey, it's the thought that counts, right? :o)

I am entering the card into the following challenges:

I love ProMarkers - Food and drink

Inky Impressions - Our fury friends

Hope you have a great week!

M.

The big come-back?!

Hello Everyone, I'm back!

Truth be told, I probably won't be here too regularly yet, as the Little One still needs a lot of attention and takes a lot of my time, however if I do manage to get my fingers inky every now and again, I will most certainly do my best to pop by! The plan is to be back on a regular basis in 2016, but we shall see how that goes! :o)

Today I am sharing a card I made using the same Delicate Florals stamp by Penny Black that I used in my last (August) post - I just love this one so much! You can also see that it's easy enough to play around with different techniques, and get a completely different end result, which is great!

The colour inspiration came from the Sparkle and Shine challenge. I stamped the image with the VersaFine Ink in black, and then heat embossed it. The coloured strip was added using Distress Inks. I then went over the flowers with some clear Wink of Stella which bleached the colour a bit and added some sparkle - LOVE this effect! The sentiments come from 2 different stamp sets - one by Mama Elephant and one by WPlus9. I also used the Femme Frames dies by Mama Elephant for the layers. And, to finish off the card, I added a few sequins, too! 

I have to say, I'm quite pleased with the result, so hope you like it too!

I am entering the card into the following challenges:

Sparkle and Shine - Photo inspiration

Penny Black - November. Dies and/or punches

MAWTT - Leaves and/or trees

Have a great week,

M.

Cotton wedding anniversary with Penny Black's "Delicate Florals"

Hi Everyone,

This is most probably my last post before the baby's arrival, hence please don't be surprised if this blog gets a bit quieter for the next few weeks, maybe months? I have no idea how quickly I will be ready to get back to crafting and blogging... Hopefully soon enough, as it's so nice and relaxing! However, my new little Bundle of Joy will be, of course, taking priority! :o)

Today I am sharing a 2nd wedding anniversary card I made for my hubby (and myself, LOL). I just HAD to use this Penny Black "Delicate Florals" stamp the moment I got it in the postbox, and I decided that - since the 2nd anniversary is "cotton" - I will try to use some cotton wool on the flowers. All my ProMarker colouring got covered that way, unfortunately, but the colour still peeks through the cotton wool bits, which I think gives quite a nice effect. Other than that, I decided to keep the card simple enough (yeah, I know, I did add some sequins!), as the hubby likes the "Keep it Simple, Stupid" rule ;o)

Since my fingers were already inky & crafty, and I had a lot of supplies out, I also made another card using the same stamp, with a completely different effect & technique - I will have a feeling this will be my "go to" stamp set for a while now! I will share this at some point, surely! 

In the meantime, have a peek at my anniversary card and let me know what you think of the "cotton" idea:

I am entering the card into the following challenges:

I Love ProMarkers - In the garden

Passion for ProMarkers - Summer Lovin

Penny Black August challenge - Hot summer colours

Penny Black and More - Summer Flowers

Sparkle and Shine - Challenge 11, photo inspiration

Take care!

M.

Baby Boy Card with Mama Elephant

Hi Everyone,

Special greetings from Maternity-Leave-Land! ;o) I finally made it, I am officially off from work for a loooong time, and now we're just waiting for the baby to arrive! Exciting times ahead!

And since we're waiting for babies (yes, there's a baby boom around!), why not kill the time with making some more baby cards? LOL! This time I used the  lovely Mama Elephant "Just Hatched" stamp set with the coordinating dies - those images are so sweet. For the base of the card, I used my go-to Spellbinders die set, I really like the final effect & shape of the card. A bit of ribbon from my stash, and some Wink of Stella sparkle & bling and voila - all ready!  

I am entering the card into the following challenges:

Crafty Friends - Movie Week ("Chicken Little")

A Gem of a Challenge - Animals or Birds

I Love ProMarkers - 3 or more layers

MAWTT - Baby Baby

Have a great week,

M.

Birthdays are good for you...!

Hi Everyone,

I have another quick card to share with you today - this time for a lady with a lot of sense of humour who was celebrating her 70th birthday. Her friend, who ordered the card, said that the lady loved cats, so she asked me to make something cat-related. She also asked to have the number "70" on the card somewhere, but to ensure that this was not the main feature of the card. 

This is what I came up with. The recipients were thrilled, so I guess I managed to comply with all the requests! :o) The cats are from a freebie stamp-set that came with a crafty magazine - I knew they would come handy someday! And the sentiment? Well, it has always made me chuckle! ;o)

I am entering the card into the following challenges:

Crafty Friends - use a punch

A Gem of a Challenge - Birthday wishes

I Love ProMarkers  - Pets

Have a great day and week!

M.

Happy Birthday with a teddy

Hi Everyone,

Hope you're all keeping well! Just a quick post today, I am sharing a bit of a last-minute birthday card I made for my mum's friend - she loves teddies, and so mum wanted to have a teddy on the card. I decided to make a little easel card, and used some cheerful summery colours on it. Of course, I couldn't resist a few little punched butterflies on a summery card! :o) The bear is a freebie stamp that came with a crafty magazine. 

Hope you like it! For some reason the colouring of the bear doesn't look too great in the pictures, it was much nicer in real life... :o(

I am entering the card into the following challenges:

Crafty Friends - use a punch

A Gem of a Challenge - Birthday wishes

I Love ProMarkers  - Pets

Passion for ProMarkers - Candy Crush (colour inspiration)

Have a great week,

M.

Happy Birthday card with Stamping Bella

Hello Everyone,

I am finally managing to share a not-baby-related card with you today! But do not worry if you want to see more baby cards - I am about to go to my craftroom to make another one, LOL. And I will even be using the same stamp I used in my recent creations - that's what my friend requested, so I guess it is well liked not only by me! Can you guess which stamp I am referring to? :o)

Today's creation is a girly birthday card with a Stamping Bella "Posh has a present" image, which is also dearly loved by me. The card is similar to a creation I made last year (you can see it here) and was especially requested by a colleague in work who really liked my original card & asked for a similar version. 

Please forgive the photo quality - somehow, the camera was not willing to cooperate with me this time, and I was in a hurry to give the card to the recipient - it was a bit of a last minute order & make! 

I don't think I even need to add that there is Wink of Stella & Glossy Accents involvement in the card, do I? I did tell you I was addicted! ;o) The dress is paper-pieced, the rest is coloured with ProMarkers. Oh, and the bow on the dress is a Mama Elephant die - fiddly, but gives good results! What do you think:

I am entering the card into the following challenges:
Crafty Friends - Anything goes

Stamping Bella - Sketch 14 July

Inky Impressions - 2 or more die-cuts

I Love ProMarkers - Sport (yup, a bit of a cheeky one, but shopping is a sport for many, including the recipient of this card!)

Passion for ProMarkers - Fancy that

Have a great week,

M.

Yes, yet another baby card! :o)

Hi Everyone,

How are you coping with all this heat?! Well, we're having a proper downpour right this moment in Dublin, so I can tell you - it has come as a bit of relief! I do hope, however, that it's not the end of summer, and that the lovely sunny days will be back soon.

Today yet another baby card to share with you - I did say there is a baby boom around, right? :o) We're going more blue this time, with a Baby Boy theme. I used one of my recently favourite LOTV stamp - Balloon Basket. I think it's super cute! And, of course, the image simply had to be accompanied by some Glossy Accents and Wink of Stella - barely any cards of mine make it without at least one of these two recently!

Have a look yourself:

I am entering the card into the following challenges:

Crafty Friends - Anything Goes

A Gem of a Challenge - Red/White/Blue

QKR Stampede - For a child

MAWTT - Baby Baby
Little Miss Muffet - Red/White/Blue

Are you making so many baby cards recently, too?!

Hugs,

M.

Summer babies

Hello Everyone,

Hope you're having a lovely Sunday. The summer is finally here, how amazing is that?! Even with my growing bump, I am delighted! Thankfully, "summer" in Ireland mostly doesn't go in line with huge heat waves or anything, so all the pregnant ladies out there, myself included, can enjoy a lovely sunny weather without too much suffering :o)

It seems like "summer babies" is a bit of a common phenomenon as I have been asked for quite a few cards for newborn babies - love making pink and blue cuties! 

Today I am sharing a card for a little Lady made with a cute LOTV stamp (Baby Blanket). Some paper piecing, colouring, glossy accents & Wink of Stella later - this is what the card looks like. And, since it's summer, I decided to add some flowers, bling and butterflies, cause who doesn't love these?! :o)

I am entering the card into the following challenges:

A Gem of a challenge - Summertime

Inky Impressions - Summertime

Passion for Promarkers - No squares allowed

Inky Chicks - Butterflies

MAWTT - Inspired by a song (Security/ Don't wash my blanket)

Hope you are enjoying your summer, too!

Hugs,

M.

Finally back! :-)

Hi Everyone,

I am finally back! It took me a few weeks to unpack the craftroom, but I am now 95% done and ready to go again! Unfortunately, I have to share my room with the hubby now, as the nursery took over my husband's den, but we'll hopefully manage, LOL! Not 100% happy with how crammed everything is now, but hey - one has to compromise! I guess I was just very spoiled with the room all to myself! Here's to hoping we'll get a bigger house in a few years and I'll get some of my old space back... :o)

Today I am sharing a Father's Day card with you. Yes, it's that time of the year again! It's a little easel card, I hope the recipient likes it. I paper pieced this cute image from The Greeting Farm (love colouring and paper piecing these, it's so much fun!), added a little bit of Wink of Stella here and there (at the end of the day it's a masculine card, so not too much space for glitter!), and hey presto - the card was ready in no time! Well, maybe apart from the drying time of those liquid pearls around the card, LOL. 

I am entering the card into the following challenges:

QKR Stampede - Father's Day

I Love ProMarkers - Anything goes

Passion for ProMarkers - Masculine

A Gem of a challenge - Something blue

Hope you like it. Happy Father's Day in advance to all the Daddies out there!

Hugs,

M.

Shaker card for a child

Hello Everyone,

How have you all been? I hope all's fine with you? 

All OK here, although I have absolutely no idea who is stealing all those hours from my days - it's simply impossible that I still have all of the 24 of them to use?! My bump is growing, the big due date time is closer and closer... and yet I feel that even though I am trying to catch up on everything, I am still nowhere with all the stuff I want done! LOL... Well, I'm kind of getting there, I guess... Most of the house renovations are finished and the nursery is starting to resemble a nursery more and more each day, so maybe I'm not doing too badly! 

My craftroom, however, is still mostly in boxes! Gotta work on unpacking over the coming week or so! 

Today I want to share with you a birthday card I made for a little 2 year old - even though the card is for a birthday girl, I was asked not to make it in girly colours. And the theme was... SUNGLASSES! I decided to go for a shaker card, and have to say that I am quite pleased with the result. Simple, of course - you know me! - but sufficiently entertaining for the little one. Hopefully the birthday girl likes it, I know her mammy does! :o)

I wouldn't be myself if I hadn't added some Wink of Stella and some Glossy Accents, of course! 

I am entering the card into the following challenges:

QKR - Children's birthday card

Runway Inspired Challenge - Custo Barcelona

(that outfit would do with a shaker element in the "window", too, LOL)

Little Miss Muffet - Anything Goes

I will probably need another while before I'm back to regular crafting (unless someone does the unpacking for me!), so bear with me! 

Have a great week,

M.

Sweet birthday card

Hello again,

I can't believe I'm managing to post again - I guess my recent creativity & card orders are paying off! I will probably find it difficult to craft over the coming weeks, with some house renovations on the way (slowly packing away my craftroom, it's getting new floors!), so I thought I would post in the meantime, whilst I still can. I will have limited space/supplies available for a while, then we're planning a short holiday trip, so you might need to bear with me till mid-May! However, you never know, I might still have a project or two up my sleeve for the coming days... 

Today I am sharing a simple bday card for a friend's boyfriend - she said he has a bit of a sweet tooth, and asked for a card with some sweeties. I decided to make use of my Papermania "Cupcakes" stampset & play with some paper piecing again - love this technique! It is a bit fiddly at times, and time consuming, but the results are often really great! This time, paper-piecing the wrappers was easy-peasy, yet it gave them quite a realistic look (not to mention that it helped with using up some scraps!). The cupcakes were finished with touches of ProMarkers here and there, some glitter , bling & Glossy Accents (of course!) and some Fluffy Stuff for dimension - I think the fluffy stuff really made the cupcake pop! 

What do you think? I think I need coffee and a muffin! ;o)

I am entering the card into the following challenges:

I Love ProMarkers: Release the Glitter

Inky Chicks:  Chocolates and sweets

A Gem of a Challenge: Sweet treats

QKR:  Guy cards

Have a fab & sweet day, 

M.

Father's Day Card

Hello Everyone,

I had a few moments to spare, so I thought I should pop over here! We're starting some home renovations this week, and I need to pack away most of my craftroom (eek!), therefore crafty times might be a bit limited in the next 2-3 weeks or so... Wish us luck! :o)

Today I am sharing a quick Father's Day creation that I made for a friend (well, the friend's dad ultimately!). She wanted something with bears, and I thought that this Lili of the Valley stamp would be perfect (sorry, I think the stamp is discontinued by now)! I decided to paper-piece the armchair, and colour the rest of the image. 

It's the usual style of mine - simple, but hopefully nice. The blending around the sentiment somehow looks really awful in the photos, but it looks much better and more even in reality! The friend was very happy, so that's the most important bit for me. Now let's just hope that the daddy will like it, too!

I am entering the card into the following challenges:

LMMC -  Round in Circles

MAWTT -  Let's get reading

QKR stampede - Guy cards

Enjoy the rest of your Sunday and have a great week afterwards!

M.

I'm back! With a card in a box!

Hello Everyone, miss me much?! :o)

I have to say, I missed my blogging lots! I didn't miss crafting that much, since I have been busy enough (although definitely less busy than in the previous months/years), however there wasn't much time left for blogging and other online presence. The reason for it? 

TA DAH! 

A good enough reason, I hope?! :o) 

Therefore, please forgive me if I am not around much in the nearest future - I will do my best, but this is a completely new situation for me in life, and with the baby coming in less than 4 months (eek!) and a lot of preparations still to come - I simply might not be able to!

Now, let's get back to business! Today I am sharing a very springy card, since spring does appear to finally be peeking through the gloomy mornings and skies! YAY! And about time - May is already just around the corner! This is one of the first "card in a box" projects of mine also, so please be gentle with the feedback, LOL! 

Anyways, I hope you like it, have a look:

I kept it simple enough in terms of the embellishments sticking out of the center of the box  - I was a bit conscious of trying not to over-do it! I guess my next attempts will be a bit more adventurous! Either way, the card is cheerful, girly and with some bling here and there, so right up my alley! AND it can be posted flat - how fabulous is that?! I also love the paper pattern - it looks as if it has been stitched through in places - awesome!

I am entering the card into the following challenges:

Inky Chicks - Stitching (real or faux)

Moving Along with the Times - Anything but a square card

QKR stampede - Spring flowers

A Gem of a challenge - Spring is in the air

Now, let's see if I manage to be back here soon enough! Fingers crossed!

Warm springy hugs,

M.