Panda hat

A good friend of mine sent me a picture of a panda hat and I suggested we did a trade - hat for embroidery. This is my end of the bargain! Cute, eh? :)

I did a search for panda hats and only found a couple of recipes, none that worked for me. The result was to improvise the whole thing. I made a grid in Excel and fiddled around until I got something that resembled a panda face. It took two tries, as the first one used too many stitches. The decreases are worked along the sides, where the ears were knitted on later. It's also on my Ravelry page.

For Dad!

My dad just celebrated his birthday, and that meant I had to make one of the much dreaded male cards... But I was pleasantly surprised of how easily this one came together! Nothing like a looming deadline to give the creativity a kick, right? ;)
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I stamped the black Prima Alphas with StazOn Ultramarine and wiped the excess ink off before it dried, giving them a nice blue glow. Some glue and 2 mm foam pads help the two raised letters stick to the card. The only other embellishments are three brown eyelets keeping the three paper circles together. Lots of distressing on this card, the design papers really made that nescessary, and it seems fairly masculine too.
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I haven't entered a challenge in ages - I never won anything after my beginner's luck faded anyway. ;) Going for a lucky comeback strike today though, with these three challenges: Charisma Cardz (men's cards), Cupcake Craft Challenge (keep it simple), and if I'm not too late, Papertake Weekly (the sketch, interpreted a bit loosely, as I don't have an image on this card).

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ETA: Whohoo! I made the Charisma Cardz Top three! :) :) Thank you so much! :)

Spots 'n stripes Wisteria

My BG Wisteria paper pad is getting thin... I just love them so much!
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Papertake Weekly asks for spots and stripes. The stripes should be fairly obvious, and the darker paper have flowers made from spots and circles. I've used half a Bazzill paper flower again and sprinkled other flowers around. The image is coloured using Prismacolor pencils and the flowers have been lightly sprayed with Glimmermist Pearl.

Vintage card

Finally, a new card! I've been so occupied with my December project that cards have been a rare commodity around here lately. But I've got five more lined up for the next few days. The reason for this is the 12,5 hours I spent scrapping and cardmaking along with several wonderful ladies at HobbyHimmelen yesterday! So much fun! Although I almost regretted it when I started choosing and packing what to bring the night before... *lol* I hope to get the chance to do it again - they just have to stop organizing these events whenever I work the weekend. *sigh* And now for the un-packing...

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The papers are from the BG Porcelain pad. I've inked the edges with Creamy Brown and also inked the entire surface of the picture (found online) to give it a sepia feel. Then layered a cut Bazzill flower with a cream flower and pale pink roses and rosebuds. I also used my Spellbinders labels four that I just couldn't resist buying yesterday...

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This card is going into the ABC Challenge (green) and the Our Creative Corner Challenge (vintage). It's been a long time since I've entered a challenge - perhaps I'll get some beginner's luck back? ;)

Quadruple challenge K&Co card

I'm easing into the card making habit again, having been distracted by illness and a new long-term project (see previous post). So, just a nice and easy card today, made with the gorgeous K&Co Classic K McKenna paper pad my good friend Krissie bought me! Thank you sooo much sweetie! There's nothing like fresh new pattern paper... I'll be having a go at the Wild Asparagus pad next. ;)
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I've managed to qualify for a few challenges: Secret Crafter and Creative Card Crew are both asking for celebration cards. Crafty Creations asks for cards with one or more pale colour, and I think there are pale colours in the pattern papers, and then there are the pale pink rose buds. Lastly, I suddenly realised that this card deserves to be entered to the Pile it On 3D challenge, as the felt flower and the roses make this card so thick that it almost doesn't fit in the envelope! *lol*

Olaug 70 years

I've used my DCWV Old World and Latte stacks again - they seem to complement each other nicely. I've inked all the edges, and the green mats were curled before inking to create a more distressed look.

The yarn I used for the flower and "ball of yarn with knitting needles" was originally white, so I doused it all with several layers of Glimmermist. First a light spray of Meadow Green, then lots and lots of Old Lace, topped off with a little bit of my own mix of water and Perfect Pearls Copper powder pigments. Doesn't look too bad!
I'm entering this card to a couple of challenges: Everybody Art for the "shabby" look, and Papertake Weekly for "faking" a ball of yarn and knitting needles.
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Olaug is an avid knitter and I tried to encorporate something of that into the card. Easier said than done - I couldn't find a single stamp, charm or other embellishment to fit! Is that possible? I'm sure there are lots of paper crafters out there who also picks up needles and yarn now and then - like me. Surely that's a gap someone can fill? ;) My first solution was to crochet a flower using this recipe (but counted wrong and got six petals instead of five). And today I stumbled upon the most perfect addition, purely by coincidence! The Craft Magazine blog has a tutorial for making an embellishment in the form of a ball of yarn with knitting needles. How's that for timing! *lol* I didn't have any round toothpicks, so I attacked the ones I had with a craft knife. Love the look of this, and will definitely use this trick to decorate the labels next time I sell or give a knitted gift.

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ETA: the pictures of this post went completely haywire... *Editing like crazy to make them behave*

Tone and Knut

My mojo has gone walkabout... But I had to get this done, so there it is. It didn't turn out too bad in the end, but I'm happy I threw away my pathetic first attempt last night. ;)

DCWV Old World and Latte Stacks, Bazzill and Core'dinations Vintage and Whitewash cardstock. Stickles details on stamp and flowers, QK Phoebe Skinnimini alphabet, charms from Kort og Godt. EK Success border punch (one of my far too many purchases last weekend).

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I gave up trying to follow a sketch, but still managed to work in a few other challenges. Crafty Creations asks for embossing, and I've done both dry and heat embossing here.

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Stamp Something asks us to use our favourite embellishments. That's a tough challenge for me, because I have so much trouble choosing favourites! The mulberry flowers from Papirloftet and the roses are some of my latest favourites among the paper embellishments. I just love charms and try to work in at least one or two on every card, so that's a favourite too... ;) I guess this isn't really an embellishment, but the sentiment on the inside of the card is from my absolute favourite sentiment stamp series from Penny Black. Love these.

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Last but not least there's the ABC challenge, where D is for Diecuts. Recently I noticed that I frequently got some nice looking frames left over when using my nesties and have started keeping them for other cards or using them on the inside, like here. I'm really stingy about my Core'dinations cardstock, so every tiny piece that can be used will be used. *lol*

New direction

I've managed to do one of the much dreaded man-cards... And it turned out quite unlike what I had planned - as usual. ;) The card is big - 15cm x 21cm!
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This is for a colleague who's leaving for a new job. We're sad to see him go! As his life is taking a different direction, I had an initial idea using road signs, but it morphed into arrows and a compass rose. The stamp has a nice sentiment but I added the "Good luck on the way forward" in QK Moxie letters because I felt it needed a bit more. All the letters were a great way to fill the space too... *lol*
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Saturday was the day for shopping! And there are a few new things used on this card: The compass rose stamp, the ribbon punch, one of the ribbons - and last but not least the "Good times" rub-on. Having been disappointed with some of the rub-ons I've bought recently, these were a wonderful surprise. Really good quality! They came from a Rub-On Swatch Book from Art Warehouse. I'll definitely buy more of these if I get the chance! :)
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I've managed to get a few challenges into this card. Allsorts are asking for something for the boys. That fits nicely with Everybody Art and Creative Inspirations, who are both asking for blue and brown cards.

Weronica 31 years

This is a relatively free interpretation of the latest sketch at Sketch and Stash. I'm almost not sure I can enter it, but hey, I have no shame and will do it anyway. ;) I grabbed the BG and Kaiser Craft papers I had lying on my desk already and substituted a light green Bazzill cardstock for the pink I used on the last card. One of my new border punches (small and cheap) got a taste of paper for the first time! Oh I'm in love with border punches already. Must - have - more. The flower came from a packet of flowers I've had lying in a drawer for a while and not used... Just removed the cheezy plastic center and used a large shiny brad in stead. I've doodled a bit along the right edge, but it's hardly visible (neither in the photo nor IRL...!).

Used some scraps to decorate a glass jar I had lying around and filled it with as many home made Turtle Bars as I could, to make a quick and simple gift to go with the card.

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.

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!

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!

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*

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!