Beate 22 years

I originally intended to use my Maja Design papers today, but these BG and Kaiser Craft papers caught my eye and just begged to be used. For the first time, I might add...
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I followed the sketch from Everybody Art - they're celebrating their first anniversary and have some awesome prizes this week! The sketch was nice and easy and the whole card came together quickly. I often work well when I make cards after night shifts... Who needs more than an hour of sleep anyway? ;) As I have a butterfly charm and a green embossed butterfly on this card, I'm entering it to the Flights of Fancy theme on Secret Crafter as well. This card has all kinds of rings, spots and circles and deserves to be entered to the Pile it On challenge as well as the ABC challenge.

Blog candy

Stephanie seems to give away her entire stash these days celebrating her new blog - this is her one-month candy!

Lena Katrine is celebrating her first blogoversary with this wonderful candy!

Overload

Hope the title prepared you for this one! Serious embellishment overload. ;) It's a reaction to all the clean, bright, cheery coloured cards I've made the last week... All of a sudden I just had to make a vintage card, ripping, scratching, curling, inking and tearing every edge. From one end of the spectrum to the exact opposite I guess. ;)
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I didn't intend to rotate the Friday Sketchers sketch, it's not that kind of sketch. But when I found a K&Co tag that fit I couldn't resist it and just had to. It worked this way too, even if I hadn't expected it at first. The corners of the tag were curled to resemble the oval shape on the original sketch.
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Creative Inspirations has friendship as their theme right now. I've finally managed to use some of these fabulous friendship sentiment stamps I've had for ages and never used... No idea why they haven't seen ink before now - they're gorgeous!

Blog candy

Ladybug and Friends are giving away 12 Touch Brush Markers and their 8 new clear stamps to one lucky winner!

We all love our Prima flowers and swirls, right? Now you can get your hands on some of their awsome stuff! Just look at all the yummy new pearls and flowers... Me like. :P

Trio

The Pile it On Challenge asks for something happening in threes this week. I have three silver/gem brads, three mats behind the butterfly, three gems on the butterfly, even three words in the sentiment. Have I forgotten any? The excellent sketch is from Allsorts. The added requirement was torn edges, so I knew right away I had to use some Core'dinations cardstock. The BG pattern paper is so sweet, but quite busy, so I tried to keep the rest of the card clean and simple.
I had originally planned to enter this one to a couple of other challenges, but silly me forgot to put a stamp on it and didn't qualify. *slaps forehead*

For you, my friend

Another tag-card! But I need to be bolder in my colour choices. Matching strong colours is much harder than the softer ones...

And I know that the buttons are hardly the center of attention, but they're there, so ABC Challenge here I come! ;)

Live the life you love

My local craft store had a whole row of new tag pads from K&Co yesterday, and I wanted every - single - one!! Somehow I managed to rustle up the self control to reduce it to four pads, don't ask me how. I've already used them on three cards, soon to be blogged. ;) So of course I have to add this one to the Crafty Creations Challenge! Matching the colours was a nightmare, and they do look a little different in real life... Terribly difficult to get it right today apparently.

I'm also adding this card to the Cute Card Thursday Challenge, where the theme is Lazy dayz, or summer. The colours remind me of summer, and certainly the sentiment. I find both parts of the sentiment to be easier to accomplish in the summer... Fewer obligations, more time to do what I'd like to do, the whole mood of summer is different from the rest of the year. Ah, I miss it already!

{Camilla and Njål}

I spent ages last night trying to find a colour combo or a pattern paper that gave me some inspiration. Too much pink? I'm always a little concerned for the poor groom... So I threw in a fair amount of green to balance it. ;)
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Now, this might be just me, but the bracket holds a symbolic meaning in my mind. It makes me think of two elements being combined, it holds something together in a way. I knew right away I wanted it on one of my wedding cards. The brackets have been kept going as a theme through the entire card. If nothing else, it is at least a nice decorational element. ;)

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The sketch is from Inspirational Card Sketches again. I really enjoy their skethes and their wonderful design team. It seems like I always find something I like there. Thanks for your inspiration and lovely comments ladies! :)

Turid and Stein

I made this from the sketch on Sketch Saturday. But sorry girls, I had to do it from memory! The thunder came rolling down the hillsides all through the afternoon and evening and I didn't dare to go online to check the details. So it has a few differences, but I think the sketch can still be recognized...?
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Sometimes I get very nice-looking leftover paper pieces when I use my nesties. Why throw them away when they can be used like this? :) I usually use them around my personal stamp on the last page, but this time brought it to the front. The double heart is actually a charm, I just snipped off the loop and threaded it onto the ribbon. And oops - I've photographed the card with the tiny metal heart upside down! The Core'dinations Vintage cardstock has been sanded and I used a little Bazzill Bling to give the card some contrasting shine.

At the beach

Ok, this is a weird one, I know. Almost ripped it apart but figured that maybe it will look better in the morning...? It was fun to make something in bolder colours - it certainly stands out among the other cards on my shelves!

Sketch from Carol's Sketch Fun, I liked this one too! Just flipped it and squashed it into a square. The colours came from Colour Create, the optional there was summer. Cute Card Thursday wants to see cards with a beach theme, and Lili of the Valley wants to see charms. (I love that little starfish!) Can't believe I'm entering so many challenges with a card I don't even like that much... *lol*

Just a quick post this - busy busy. Hopefully I'll get to make something more this week in between all my shifts...

For a friend

"Friends, joy, memories, happiness." I had a left over piece of Maja Design paper lying on my desk and figured that was a good starting point for a card. Having added another two pattern papers from the same range, I think I've broken my record - I usually find it difficult to use more than one or maybe two on one card... Breaking new ground! ;)
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I chose to distress all the edges a little, but wish that I had been even more careful with the craft knife... It's a little bit busy because of the large number of cardstock pieces. The stamp has been coloured with Prismacolor pencils and raised a little from the card. The swirls were a little sharp in colour against the rest, so they were first dulled with a chalk stamp pad, and then "glammed up" a bit with some Glimmermist Old Lace. Lastly, I went outside in the wind with a bottle of Glimmermist Pearl and lightly sprayed the entire card (and myself).
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The sketch, found on A Spoonful of Sugar, was quite busy and I was a little intimidated by it. As it turned out, it was actually easier to work with than first feared. :) I moved the sentiment a little to balance the card better and used flat backed pearls in its place. The colour scheme qualifies me to both Double Dutch and Whiff of Joy. And The Secret Crafter asks for fancy corners!

This may seem familiar (part two)

You may recognise this one as well... *embarrased grin* This one is almost identical to its sister, but hey, there's no way they're going to meet anyway. I was pressed for time, needed a wedding card and liked the design! Ran out of silver cardstock along the way and had to settle for two different shades... Oh well. Will be back with something more original soon. ;)

Penny Black Retro

The sketch for this card was found on the Penny Black challenge blog, and the deadline is sometime tonight! Can't find a spesific time on the blog, so I'm typing frantically and keeping my fingers crossed that I'm posting this in time! The glue isn't even dry yet. ;) I hope the PB sentiment stamp (love these!) is ok even though the sketch originally asked for an image.
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The Retro Stack came home with me earlier this summer, after more than a year of searching for a retailer who still carried it. Today I finally cut into it. The colour scheme came from The Pink Elephant challenge - turquoise, brown and neutral. I hope my white classifies as a neutral colour... I just noticed that the embossed vertical stripes on the white cardstock aren't visible in the picture... I guess that's what happens when I rush things! *lol*

For the bride and groom

This has got to be one of the quickest cards I've made lately! And I still like it a lot. :) I was going to use the scalloped oval as a mat for a smaller smooth oval, but when I sanded the Core'dinations Vintage cardstock it made a nice frame all on its own, because of the embossing. So I decided to keep it that way! And I'm very pleased with the look. Between the busy DP and the huge flower, the card doesn't need a lot of embellishments. I still went a bit crazy with the flat-backed pearls... ;)

Flowers galore

Finally, a card made for a challenge! It's the Inspirational Card Sketches I went with this time. This is one of those cards that morphed into something completely different along the way... It's weird when that happens... I didn't imagine this card anything like what it is now! *lol* The reason for all the flowers was that I had planned to use a sentiment stamp aboute friends and flowers - but somehow it just didn't fit the layout! And I accidently picked up the wrong sized circle nesties, I should have gone one size bigger. But at least I managed to keep my hands off the Liquid Pearl before it dried this time. ;)

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The Core'dinations Whitewash cardstock was embossed with the Swiss Dots folder and sanded to reveal the blue core colour, that also is visible along the teared edge. The circles have been cut from Core'dinations Vintage and sanded along the edges to reveal the lighter core colours. I just love how the embossed edge is emphasized with the sanding!

This may seem familiar (part one)

This card may seem a little bit familiar to the keen and sharp readers of this blog... Yep, scroll down and you'll find a very similar one. I'm trying to get ahead with my card making duties by making two similar cards when I know they're going in two completely different directions. And it's working, I've got 16 cards ready for delivery! :D :D Colours, papers and basic layout stays the same, embellishments change. This one is slightly looser in form than its sister. I've fallen in love with the flower/swirl corner cluster ... ;)

Elisabeth and Christian

This card came together pretty quickly, probably because I've already used these colours before, and because the layout is fairly similar to my previous card. I love this pattern paper! So delicate colours.

Silver embossing powder, Stickles on the bride's dress, Glimmermist on the flowers. The names were written using Porcelain, a free font I found online. After arranging the words in Photostudio they were printed on white Bazzill cardstock and cut with a small nestie.

I had a go at a debossing technique I saw on a card the other day - luckily I guessed right about how to do it. Both the silver and the white cardstock was first cut using my nesties, and then debossed using the cutting die and one smaller die. Love the effect, very three-dimensional!

Blog candy

Ok, the candy posts have been taking over this little blog lately... Sorry. Will be posting something of my own soon, I hope. But seriously, these two ladies are really worth checking out! Meet two of the heroins of the scrapping and card making blog world:


Ingvild Bolme makes the most amazing layouts you've ever seen! So rich and detailed you'll stare at every page for half an hour if you're not careful. She's celebrating a whopping 200.000 hits with a huge RAK!

Bev is well known among the card making community and has a wonderful sense of colour. There'a always something new and gorgeous to be found on her blog! Right now you can get your hands on some amazing candy celebrating her unbeliavable 400.000 hits!

Hege and Torgeir

Just a quick card I made for my mom the other day. Please excuse the absolutely pathetic picture, it was taken in a hurry before leaving for work. I've been waaay to busy to post it before now, and my hands are itching to make something! The retro stack is calling my name... All work and no play makes Eva a grumpy gal.
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I got to use my new stamp on this one, and filled the dress with Stickles. Love the clean elegant lines of the stamp - and that there is not only a bride there, but a groom as well! There are lots of similar stamps, but nearly all of them pictures brides and dresses... Poor grooms, they are too often neglected in wedding stuff.

Blog candy

The Little Princess is having a candy with lots of cool stuff, just look at those stamps!
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Mummylade is also giving away some nice things - for lots of different reasons... :)
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Then there is Michelle, who is celebrating her birthday - congratulations!

Transformation

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Jeanie is currently transforming from this...

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...to this!

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Working with two and three double-pointed needles right next to the cable needle is tricky to say the least, but she's looking good so far! I can't wait to see her all finished! :)

A green card for Synne

It's been a while since I made a green card... No pun intended.
I followed a sketch from Carol's Sketch Fun, it's my first time entering that particular challenge! I've also followed Allsort's recipe of 3 flowers, 2 papers and 1 ribbon. The PB sentiment stamp is embossed with a lovely dark green embossing powder, and the flowers have been Glimmermisted.
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Anyone else have a problem with your pictures looking completely out of focus when Blogger gets its hands on them? I swear they are as sharp as can be before uploading... Anyway, I'm off to bed before these blurry pictures make me cross-eyed. See you soon!

Gorgeous Maja

Just a simple card today, my Jeanie shawl is nearly done and is distracting me from my desk and cards... Just the short edges to finish. You'll see her here soon! ;)
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I just recieved my candy from the talented Stephanie. And I had to make something with it right away! So brown and pink it had to be. The gems, brads, butterfly and some of the flowers came from her, the rest from my stash. Glimmermist on flowers. Finally managed to make that first cut into the gorgeous Maja Design papers... that hurt. Got to stock up double of these!
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Sketch from A Spoon Full of Sugar, nice and simple. Simon Says "distress your card", and yes I have. Have a nice day everyone!

Blog candy (and lots of it!)

Went blog hopping today and stumbled upon a tons and tons of candy up for grabs. Sorry, this is a long post... Can't help it - it's free stuff! *lol* Have a look around, these ladies have some really nice eye candy on their blogs as well!

Carolyn is giving away some of her favourite things...

Pink Sunshine is giving away paper, ribbons and more!

A Passion for Papertrey is giving away papers and stamps!

Carol is giving away some MME papers and a cute Sugar Nellie stamp!

Amy is giving away some hilarious High Hopes stamps!

Leanne is giving away the Gorjuss girls set 3 celebrating her moving to Dubai!

Claire is giving away Copics, flowers and more!

Over at The Crafting Pad there's a whole bunch of stuff for one lucky person!

Patricia is keeping her candy a secret... ;)

Michelle is celebrating her 2nd blogoversary with some gorgeous MME candy!

Rach is giving away some Martha Stewart loopy edge and corner punches!

Kristine 29 years

Another card salvaged from the box of cards for sale. A little tweaking and it became usable again. This time it was transformed from a baby card to a birthday card with the adding of more green here and there, and covering up parts of the stamp.
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My QK Moxie Skinnimini alphabet has been put to good use! So cool. We don't have to say anything about the extra QK Squeeze cutter tool that came with it and now hides in the closet in case the first one doesn't do its job right anymore... My only excuse is that I didn't order it alone. We are weak. Oh yes my friend, you know who you are. ;)