Daisy's Image Inspirations Wedded Bliss

Over at

 our challenges run fortnightly so on the off Wednesday the Designers will be creating with a specially selected digi from the Daisy Doodles Store.

The set we are working with today is Wedded Bliss and it is available from the store at the very special price of only $1.50. You get an image of the bride and groom as used here and a horseshoe. The DT have made some smashing cards using these images.

I coloured the image with Promarkers & Flexmarkers and used my tiny scissors to cut it out and used tiny foam pads to raise it up. The scalloped edge card has been covered using some metallic silver card. I have used patterned papers from a wedding pack by Dovecraft. The snippet at the back has been punched using a Martha Stewart doily punch and the paper with the confetti images has been die cut with a Nestabilities die. Last but not least I used a sentiment from my stash.

I hope you will pop over to the blog to see the lovely creations on there and please remember that you have until Sunday night to get your entries in for our Spring challenge.

I'll see you again next week with another lovely Daisy Doodles design.

Materials Used in this card are as follows:-

Card Size – 6” Square

Image – Wedded Bliss by Daisy’s Digi Doodles

Patterned Paper – Wedding Pack by Dovecraft

Sentiment – Stash

Tools – Fiskars Scissors, Promarkers, Flexmarkers, Nestabilities, Martha Stewart punch

Techniques – Punching, Die Cutting

I would like to enter this card into the following challenges (in Alphabetical Order):-

• ATC’s & Cards With Attitude #10 – Anything Goes
• Cardmadfairy’s Digi Days #30 – Dies &/or Punches
• Diva’s By Design #29 – Anything Goes
• Dream Valley Challenge #29 – Wedding/Love
• Fairytale Challenge #38 – Anything Goes
• Kaboodle Doodles #113 – Anything But Rectangle
• Papercraft Star #91 – Anything Goes
• Papertake Weekly  – Anything Goes
• Sassy Cheryl’s #109 – Soft Pastels
• Simon Says Stamp – Use Your favourite Tool (Big Shot)
• Tammy’s Scrapin Corner #4 – Anything Goes
• Tuesday Throwdown #92 – Pastels

Flashback Friday 11.0

Over at Flashback Friday we have been challenged to share our 1st wedding card.

This card was made in September 2003 for one of the ladies who worked at our Bristol Head Office. I hadn't been making cards for all that long and there weren't loads of patterned papers around like there are now. I made my own backing paper by printing onto a pearlescent vellum that I had and also printed out the name of the bride and groom to make it more personal. The silver horseshoe shape was a cake decoration and there is a mixture of confetti shapes and peel offs for the rest of the decorations.

It's really weird how so many years have passed and I remember the look of delight Jane had when she opened it. I am glad to say that the happy couple are still married and that's good going these days :)

It has just struck me as well how some challenge blogs are heading back to a more clean and simple style of cardmaking but really that is all we knew in the old days because we didn't have all the stuff we have available to buy nowadays.

Happileigh Scrappin' Challenge #18

It's my turn to set the challenge over at Happileigh Scrappin' Challenges this week and the UK is readying itself for the event of the year, the Royal Wedding on the 29th April celebrating the marriage of Prince William & Kate Middleton. We've even got a special Bank Holiday in it's honour!

In honour of this occasion I want to see lots of wedding cards, but with a twist. The Royal Family are renowned for their Crown Jewels so I would like to see you add some jewels to your card. The card can be in any colours but it needs to have some bling on it to make it suitable for Royalty :)

I used the Royal Couple digi which is available to purchase HERE in the Special Occasions section at the Happileigh Scrappin' Store. Leigh has also designed a fabulous Bride & Groom image as well.

For my creation I started with an A4 sheet of pearlescent cream card to create an A5 blank. I have used gold card to mat the image and Princess sentiment which is from Elegant Word Art. The swirly paper is from a Dovecraft wedding set and I kept to a cream and gold colour scheme throughout.

I coloured the image with Promarkers and added lots of small crystals to the bride's veil and the bottom of her dress. The big jewel around her neck is of course befitting a Princess. The groom is in his Naval uniform and is wearing his golden jewel medals of honour.

The cream ribbon with a gold edge is a wired ribbon that I wrapped around the gold card before I attached this final layer to the cream base. This has ensured there are no unsightly loose ends. The lattice heart is a punch from Martha Stewart to which I have added a couple of small gems. Last but not least I made one of those Yo Yo flowers that I have seen on lots of cards around blogland. I simply used a wide gold ribbon which has wired edges, folded it over in the middle and pulled the wires to form a ring. I have popped a jewel brad from American Crafts into the centre and used this to attach it to the card.

Please pop on over to see the lovely creations my Happi Sisters have added. There are lots of lovely cards to feast your eyes upon.

Remember, for our challenges you don't need to use a Happileigh Scrappin' image but if you do your entry counts twice and withfreebies available here it is easy to use one of Leigh's fabulous digis.

At the Happileigh Scrappin' Store Leigh is having a Spring sale.

For Every 3 images you purchase can choose another one completely free.

We would love to see lots of entries in this challenge. Leigh gives away her lovely digis to the top 3 so it is well worth entering and me and the DT love to see your creations, so come on over toHappileigh Scrappin' Challenges to join the fun.

I would like to enter this card into the following challenges (in alphabetical order):-

• Digital Tuesday #106 - Image of a woman
• Papertake Weekly #56 - Dimensional card
• Passion For Promarkers #95 - Make your own Embellishments (ribbon flower)
• Tuesday Throwdown #44 - Sparkle & Bling

365 Cards Day 112

This is another catch up with 365 Cards that I made yesterday.

Day 112's challenge was to make a wedding card and to include the word 'love' on it.

The backing paper is from a wedding themed scrapbook kit I got from Poundland. I loved the stylised M for marriage and used a Docrafts stamped image that was on my desk from making my sister in law's card a few weeks ago. I simply coloured it in using Promarkers and added a clear Sakura glitter pen on the hearts and the monagram (hasn't scanned in very well though)

The sentiment is a peel off sticker. It is very definitely silver but for some reason scans in with a gold tinge. I think it must be because it is a slightly holographic one and the scanner bulb plays tricks with it. Silly scanner !

A Wedding Commission

My goodness, I have been a bad blogger lately. Since starting my new job on the 20th July I haven't made any cards but I have been working on this commission. I have been planning and making it most nights after I have been at work and had my tea. I have loved making it but have to admit I am glad it is finished so I get on with making other beautiful things.

I made a card like this last year for a work colleagues wedding and one of my friend's Karen asked to do something similar for people who are getting married in Sorrento in Italy. What a glorious setting for a wedding :)

The brief was to use colours of lilac and silver. I couldn't find my scribbled down instructions from making it last year so had to start from scratch. One of crafty buddies Jenny has asked for instructions so I have written them down stage by stage and will be typing it up for her. if anyone else is interested in instructions please pop your email details on this thread and I'll forward them to you when they are typed up. The finished box dimensions are 5.5" square x 8.25" tall and it is constructed from sheet of A4 card so easy to piece together.

Anyhoo I have made a slideshow of all the flaps in the card with all the gorgeous details below.

The main card is lilac cardstock from the Papermill. The silver paper has been punched with my Martha Stewart doily punch. The ribbons are from my stash from various sources. The silver filigree hearts are charms. The tiny lilac flowers and the roses are from Ebay, the diamante centre flowers at the top of the cake and on the lid are from the bridal section of M. Latifs in Birmingham. All the peeloff stickers are from Papermania/Docrafts. I have used rubber stamps for the top of the box, the wedding cake and the bride and groom image all from Docrafts. Sakura glitter pens have provided the coloured details and I decoupaged the image on the box lid by stamping 3 times and mounting the layers with 3D foam.

I have missed out on the blog challenges over the last few weeks so have a lot of 365 Cards challenges to catch up on, but I have loved making this card. I used to get a fair amount of commissions whilst working at Amtrak as many people would ask me to make their special cards. Although I love being creative in general, my absolute favourite thing is to make cards for a special reason and a wedding definitely counts as being a special reason.

Luckily for me, the current Caardvarks challenge is to make a new bridal or baby shower card or item. I'm hoping I might be very lucky and win a prize with this little beauty. Also Sarn's current forum challenge is to make a shaped card so I'm adding this over there too. On of the recent challenges for 365 Cards Day 144 was to use 2 different methods of adding dimension to your card. I have a decoupaged lid and the whole of the inside is 3d so has a tremendous amount of dimension.

I have also linked this to the wedding themed challenge #42 at Rosie Dee's

365 Cards Day 106, TPE, Double Dutch, Pile It On, Stamp Simply, OCC & Crafty Creations

Paul's sister Jill is getting married on August to her fiance Steve, they have been together for about 3 years and both have children from previous relationships. They are tying the knot in Freeport in the Bahamas, having their honeymoon and then on the 30th August they will be having a blessing at a posh hotel. We have just received our formal invitation so I have made a formal acceptance.

The style of their invitation is very simple, just 2 lilac hearts entwined with the words 'Two Become One'. I decided to make my card along the same theme but of course just a tad more embellished as any handmade card should be :)

I have incorporated the following 7 challenges into this card :-

• 365 Cards Day 106 - Super Sketchy Sunday for the layout
• The Pink Elephant #19 - Wedding theme
• Pile It On #2 - Use at least 2 different ribbons
• Stamp Simply #91 - Use a semi- circle
• Double Dutch #20 - Monochrome card - any colour just different shades
• Our Creative Corner - Use a Border Punch
• Crafty Creations # 19 - Use the colour purple

I used an A4 sheet of card for the base in a darker shade of purple. The slightly patterned paper on top is form the HOTP Amethyst Cardmakers pack, the glitter paper embossed with the Heart Blocks Cuttlebug folder is a wrapping paper from Paperchase. I have used the largest of my Nestability dies to cut the shape. The darker paper edge with my Martha Stewart doily punch is a textured one from my stash from the Papermill, the upper layer of shimmer paper is from the HOTP pad and textured with the Cuttlebug Swiss Dots Folder. The self adhesive spotty ribbon is from Docrafts.

The die cut hearts are Sizzlits dies. The solid heart has been embossed with the Cuttlebug Textile folder and is on 1mm foam pads. The holey heart is raised on 5mm and has a small ribbon tied through into a bow.

The sentiment is Docrafts peeloff which were originally silver. I have coloured them purple with a permanent marker.

365 Cards Day 94 & Paperminutes # 65

OMG, another green card from me, will wonders never cease? I really like how this one has turned out too....am I converting to green???

This card was made for Day 94's challenge at 365 Cards. You had to make a card inspired by images from an advertisement. It was for a wedding, using colours green balck and white and had damask designs in it.

I have used this weeks sketch # 65 from Paperminutes. It is a really simple layout which has enabled the papers and elements to stand out.

The green paper and ribbon are from HOTP. The black and white paper is from Clare Curds Signature Range by Papermania. The scrolly frame is from a wedding pack of papers that came with Issue 4 of Creative Cardmaking magazine. The epoxy sticker is from a craft pack that came from Poundland.

I was tempted to put some small gems on the paper but decided against it as I thought it might detract from the simple design. I am trying to learn the theory of 'less is more', I said trying........

Just popping round to Paul's Grandad's in a little while as he is bring brought home from hospital in an ambulance. After 9 weeks inside he is so looking forward to coming home. He's still got to have 2 operations but after almost losing him twice today is a very happy day for us all.

STOP PRESS !!

This card was nominated as one of the 3 Cards of The Week at 365 Cards, I am so chuffed :)

Card Sketch a Day 250 & 365 Cards Day 37

Today I have 2 of my cards featured as Designer cards on sketch 250 at Card Sketch a Day. 

The first card was made as a wedding card for one of my forum friends who is getting married on Saturday. The papers and elements are all from the latest issue of Creative Cardmaking. I am so pleasantly surprised by the quality of the papers in this mag, they really seem to have taken notice of the complaints many of us consumers have had about the quality of free papers being rubbish in most cases. The sentiment is an epoxy sticker from a craft pack at Poundland, the paper rose and ribbon were recycled from another card I'd made but didn't like.

The second card was submitted in our forum challenge to make a purple card. The top paper is a vellum from a Making Cards Magazine, the bottom paper is HOTP, the middle paper is a Fiskars punch embellished piece of stardust paper also from HOTP. The central strip is a peel off sticker that started off being pink but I coloured in using a purple permanent pen. This is placed onto a strip of white card. The sentiment is from my stash.

The butterfly is a plain chipboard shape that I coloured in  with a Brilliance inkpad and added stickles glitter glue to the centre. This makes the 2nd card admissable for an old challenge at 365 Cards. Day 37 was to embellish a piece of plain chipboard. That's one old challenge laid to rest, only got another 24 old ones to go. 

Card Sketch A Day # 124 & Wedding Card

Tomorrow we are going up to the Lake Distrist as very good friends of ours from Louth are getting married on Saturday at Kendal Registry Office.

I made their card using sketch 124 from Card Sketch a Day as they wanted a 3rd card for it yesterday. However I have just gone to the site to find that I have been beaten to it ! Never mind, it was a perfect layout for the card I needed to make anyhoo.

The base cardstock was covered with a patterned paper from the Dovecraft Wedding pack. 2 tone mirrored card from Kanban was used for the central panel. The cake is a felt embellishment from a themed pack I bought from Poundland. The ribbon is the wonderful bobble trim I like to use at every opportunity. The sentiment is a rub on from DCWV.

The gift envelope is from a wonderful Linda Bernstien box that I got from QVC which has got cards that have been pre-planned for you and all the bits are in bags ready to go. I don't generally make the cards up as they are intended, but they are great for cards in a hurry. I do like to either use the embellishments another way or as in this case embellish the card a little more. I simply placed a pink sticker from MAMBI on the card as a further message and to link it with the pink on the main card.

So I've got a nice drive up th M6 to look forward to tomorrow. I have never been to the Lakes before and I'm looking forward to it very much. Then on the way back down on Sunday we are going to pop and see a friend who has moved to Lancaster and kill 2 birds with one stone.

One of the things I want to do more this year is get out and about in the car so this is a good start!

Wedding Card & Box

My colleague Christine asked me to make a wedding card for Helen from the office staff she works with.

I used embellishments from various sources for the front. The dress and the heart is Papermania, the velvet feeling tuxedo is from Woolworths, the glitter sticker is from Mambi with an epoxy sticker over the top from LMC. The sentiment sticker at the bottom is from a wedding pack from Poundland.






Inside the card I did a pop out stylee sandwiching burgundy
paper with peel off hearts on it. I also used Docrafts peel offs to add detail to the inside. There is also an extra couple of pages for her colleagues to add their sentiments to it.





The box is decorated using a wedding cake die cut from a Poundland pack. The heart and sentiment are from the Papermania stickers. Peel offs are from my stash.

Chris loved the card and so did Helen.

Wedding Table Plan

My colleague Helen asked me to make her a wedding plan as she couldn't afford to pay the money professional companies were asking. She did her own stationery using Confetti but didn't like their DIY wedding plans.

The finished size is A3 and I used Burgundy and white for the plan throughout.

The heart punck is from Docrafts and the ribbon and bows are from my stash.

The burgundy mats are mounted on 3d foam. I am really pleased with how it turned out, it looks way to professional to be something I did!

Wedding Explosion Box

One of my work colleagues Helen got married yesterday and I made an exploding box for everyone to sign.

I knew what I wanted to make but wasn't sure what the diemensions would be and also whether it would work so I did a trial 'cake' first. The proportions of the cake were wrong so I am glad that I did it.

Each teir of the cake is a cylindrical box which were stuck together with strong glue. The wedding colours were burgundy, cream and gold so I used floral embellishments in those colours and some lovely loopy ribbon that I had. All embellishments are from my stash.

The bride and groom were working on a tight budget for the wedding and loved my cake design so much that they decided to display their actual wedding cake that way too. I was extremely flattered.

All the images for the box are in the slideshow below.

3D Wedding Card

Oops just recently found these photos lurking on a digital camera. Completely forgot I took them !

One of my work colleagues commissioned me to make a wedding card for her friends who were getting married in Jamaica and having a reception when they got back.

The bridesmaids were wearing dark green so I made a dress using a folding template from a magazine and used photos from the website of the hotel they were marrying in.





I made the inside of the card with a pop out heart and put some green paper in the background with peel of gold hearts on it.

The rubber stamp on the box is an Anita's one as are the peel offs used throughout the card.

The bride was amazed when she opened it as she couldn't work out how we had got the photos. Oh the power of the internet.

Wedding Card & Di Hickman Sketch Oct #4

This card was made for my work colleagues wedding and I used a Di Hickman card sketch for the design.

The patterned paper is from a Dovecraft pack I bought at the NEC, the sparkly lilac is Paperchase wrapping paper. The stamped image is highlighted with Sakura souffle and glitter pens. The ribbon is from a great stand at the NEC, 10 rolls for £10 and the peel off is Papermania.

I was very tempted to pit something above the writing, there is a lot of blank space on this for one of my cards - but I'm pleased I resisted the urge as it looks more sophisticated for it!

Bookatrix Wedding Card

One of my colleagues getting married at the weekend and I was commissioned to make a card by my friend Dervla.






She chose the style of the card and I have made it using the wedding colours of lilac and sparkly white.

I used sparkly and irridescent papers throughout and edged the pages with Papermania peel offs. I used one of my favorite stamps for the image on the card and embellished with mulberry flowers, ribbons and Papermania heart shaped gems.















The matching box was lined with lilac tissue paper and embellished with more peel offs.

Wedding Card Box

With Bookatrix cards you NEED a box as they are about 1" thick when they stand away from the base card.

I particularly like to emboss a line around the edge as I feel it gives a focus to the centre and provides a corner to place a small embellishment and add a bit more detail.

I like to decorate the box lid with a motif or wording which complements the event the card is for.

I had a bit of a disaster with the rubber stamp though. I embossed it using gold embossing powder straight onto the box lid and the heat from the gun made the box warp !

I made another lid and cut the first one up so I could use the image and layered onto gold paper. It does stand out better on the lid now though. The peeloff is from a sheet I bought from Partners. The rubber stamp is a Denami designs one that I bought from a forum friend. I think it is so elegant.

Wedding Card

I have been commissioned by one of my colleagues Karen to make a wedding card in a box.

She had a look on my website at cards I had made before and selected a Bookatrix style card that I had made, but particularly wanted it in cream & beige. I felt it would be difficult to make a nice looking card with just those colours so suggested using gold as well.

I particularly like using 3 layers on this type of card, but sometimes it can be a real pain to match the papers together, this time it was easy ! The heart paper is wrapping paper from Paperchase which has a lovely design to it. The vellum is beige from a Hot Off The Press Earth Tones Creative Pack. I used small flower border peeloffs from I-mag-i-nation as they had them on special offer recently and I have used these ones before as they are so delicate. The mulberry flower stems have been twirled around a kebab stick to give them the twirly look.