Pink Thank You card with webbed background

... I was inspired to use scraps left over from other projects - bits of ribbons, a small piece of card, some fabric - waste not, want not! I should do that more often really!

Challenges: Thankful Thursday Ch. - scraps - Mon (few), Skipping Stones design sketch Ch. #112. Wed,

Sewn fabric with stickers

This is the first card I have run through my sewing machine, something I had planned to do for a while. It is actually very easy to do if you can force yourself to work super exacting! I was glad I had glued the background fabric to the card with PVC glue beforehand... Unfortunately the stitches had the tendency to go wrong when I sped my machine up - I had to find out the hard way, of course!

To liven up the subdued pattern and colours of the background fabric I added a second piece of fabric by layering red metallic net in one corner. I also added a few stickers which are printed on silver holographic foil, and completed it with a green metallic birthday greeting. The somehow contradicting combination reminds me of the song "I Wish I Was a Punk Rocker (With Flowers in My Hair)"! What you unfortunately can't see because they show up as white in the photograph are the silver metallic lines in the background fabric pattern - they serve as a harmonizing element in the composition.

Challenges: The Scrappy Chick Sunday Sketch Ch. - Mon - (few)

Girl or boy - baby card with duck

Baby cards with their subtle colours are among my favourites to design. I usually make them monochrome and in as near to a clear and simple style as it gets for me. The whole process is pleasantly calming.

But sometimes you just need to break the pattern if you don't want to get stuck in a rut! The result is this baby card, less calm, a lot less serious, more fun and cheerful, still bright and light. And it can be used for girl and boy parents alike which I found to be very handy.

Letterpress ornament card with an upcycled curtain background

Would you have spotted the curtains if I hadn't told you that's what they were? Now it's obvious of course... I thought I would put some of those unwanted advertising brochures we get through our letter box to a good use!

If this has inspired you to try something similar, and would like to know what to look out for when working with thin paper like this, check out my tutorial (as well as my comment on that) on the Fiskarette's blog.

My favourite embellishment is - ribbons! Which is probably why I used not one but three of them... but the card still needed a center piece, so I have printed the flourish with my letterpress which was ever so quick and easy - as long as you remember to use only a minute amount of ink, that is! Else it will smudge, no matter how careful you are.

Challenges: Party time Tuesdays Ch. #51 - Bday - Wed, Scrappy Frogs Ch. - lace - Feb

Diamond heart card in aqua

Do you have hot summer weather where you are at the moment? I know some of you do... if that's the case, just looking at the pool colours in this card might cool you down a little. At least it has that effect on me!

I split up a pair of ear rings which I had bought in the sales, and ruffled a satin ribbon. I'm always looking for ribbons as they are among my favourite items for embellishing cards. I was lucky to find one in the same shade of turquoise, and matching colour card stock.

It's the first time I tried this ruffling technique. It's easy enough, you just put a staple behind each ruffle, but you will need to measure your distances beforehand if you want a tidy look. I embellished it with a bow made from a strip of coarse silver sheer fabric.

The silver strip down the middle is a wide fabric ribbon of which I used the less shiny back side. And about time I did something with it - it has been in my stash for over a year and never actually made it onto a card until now.

Challenges: The Ribbon Girl Colour Ch. #10 - Aqua - 31st July, Craft Your Passion #66 - anyone- Tue, Hooked on Crafts Ch. #3 - love - Fri, House of Gilli Ch. #11 - Sparkle - Mon, KB Cute Monday Ch. #21 - cute - Mon, Stamp-N-Doodle Ch. - Love - Mon, There She Goes Ch. #115 - fabric - Mon, UnstampaBelles Ch. #1 - celebration - 31st July, Fetch-A-Sketch #2 - 1st Aug, The Ribbon Reel Ch. #6 - sketch - Mon 1st wk, Shopping our Stash Ch. #8 - old + new - due, Skipping Stones Design #84 - sketch - won!, Divas by Design Ch. #6 - pastels - this Thu, The Pixie Cottage Ch. #78 - ribbon - Wed, Simon says stamp - any - due, Moving along with the times times Ch. 107 - favourites - Wed, Totally papercrafts #75 - girly - Thu, Just Add Ink #76 - inspiration - Wed, Clean And Simple Sunday Ch. #17 - Aug. 9th, Really Reasonable Ribbon #28 - Cool it! - 1st Aug.

Re-posted: Cocktails with brad

Our task for the Flashback Friday Challenge is to re-post an old project that uses summer colours. I chose this cocktail card because when I originally posted it on the 21st of March 2009, it didn't get any comments.

I like the details and the cheerful design, however if I still had this card I would go and cut around the top left corner. No idea why I didn't think about it back then, but when I revisit old cards, I quite often get ideas how to improve them!

Challenges: Flashback Friday #12.0 - 24th June

Shoes... a hybrid card

I like this variation on the well known "Keep calm and carry on" slogan which has also made it into a film title last year. It leant itself to a hybrid card on what is sometimes reported to be a woman's deepest wish, longing or obsession. Buying new shoes can have a therapeutic effect when you feel life has let you down somehow. The subject is a first for me, but I feel my cards could do with a bit of humour so I just had to give it a go.

I combined the coloured bar on the left hand side in the Our Creative Corner inspiration with the area of circle shapes. This seemed a good opportunity to use my new assorted colour circle sequins which I had bought at the Pound Shop two weeks ago.

You can download Clare Curd's poster graphic for free here. She is offering a new digital every Monday on her blog www.clarecurd.com.

Challenges: Clare Curd's Digi Challenge #1, Make it Monday #41: Any - Mon, Bearly Mine Challenge #12: any - Tue 1st wk., Craft Room Ch. #1: any - Tue., Deep Ocean #1: any - next Tue, Papertake Weekly: any - Tue?., ABC Challenge: Wish - Tue., Crafty Creations #122: Some day over the rainbow..., Truly Scruptious Ch. #58: summer sparkle - Tue., AiFactory Challenge: new - Thu., Art Impressions Stamps Challenge #19: monochrome, - Thu., Crafty sentiments: sparkle - Thu., Digi Doodle Shop Ch. #62: no patterned paper - Wed., Meljen's Designs DT Challenge # 62: pink + pearls - Thu., Pals Paper Arts Ch. #97: my signature style, Shelley's Images: any - Wed., Guy Lou's Inimitability: monochrome - Thu., Joyful Stamper Inspire me Fridays #10: any - Wed., The Poodles's Parlour: any - Thu. 1st wk., Craft your days away #22: monochrome, CES Challenges #40: movie - Fri., Just some lines : monochrome - Fri., Challenge up your life #45: sketch - Fri., Creations by Gill M Ch. #9: circle shapes - Sat., Our Creative Corner: double inspiration - Sat., Sketch saturday #159: sketch, Create 4 Fun: sketch #87 - end of June,