Paper Hugs

I've grabbed a little time for myself to join in the challenge over at the Flower Challenge, where the theme is 'A Special Occasion'. The special occasion was a wedding for a friend's grand-daughter, and inside the card I added the names of the happy couple. Stamp set and die bundle used:  Beautiful Bouquet by Stampin' Up! Platinum embossing powder on sentiment and wrap Flower die cuts from watercolour card and coloured with Zig Clean Colour Real Brush Markers Card:  Whisper White by Stampin' Up!, plus textured card from my stash Thanks for taking a look - hope you like it!  This bundle has been my favourite purchase this year!

I've just noticed the challenge at Power Poppy Stamps for August calls for inspiration from home - so this is what I came up with! I took inspiration from this subtle photo print, which hangs in the corner of our dining area.  It was given to me one Christmas by my son and daughter-in-law - I love its clean style and so I knew straight away what Power Poppy stamp I could use - the digi stamp Kindness. I am fairly new to customising digi stamps but I was thrilled that I was able to move one bloom closer to the other without cutting off a corner!  I didn't manage to put one in front of the other, but I think I could next time - baby steps!  I did however bring the sentiment up over one flower!  Anyway, I'm very happy with how this first attempt turned out and will experiment further to see what magic I can do.  I have been a fan of Power Poppy for some time, and always enjoy colouring Marcella's images - they are beautiful.

Entering this card into the Less is More Challenge #376 - a one layer card with the theme of Stripes. Some succulent plants coloured with Copics and a diagonal stripe background stamp masked along one edge.  Simple and fresh I think:)

Welcome once again to  Scrapbook Boutique's  monthly challenge and blog hop.  You should have arrived here from  Angela's  amazing blog but if you didn't and want to start at the beginning, just click on the SBB blog link above and start again!   Here is July's Moodboard Inspiration picture We'd love you to join in with us this month!  There are two ways you can do this - you can comment on each blog in the hop, ending with the SBB blog, or you can create a project (either a card, scrapbook layout or off the page project) inspired by this moodboard.  Of course you can do both for a chance to win both prizes!  Please check out the rules of entry, and the prizes at the  Scrapbook Boutique Blog  and note that this challenge is open to Australian  and New Zealand residents. From the moodboard, I was inspired by the wintry tree in the top left and the keyboard letters, and chose to make an early Christmas ...

I'm sharing this new style of card, but probably shouldn't!  I've followed Jennifer McGuire's tutorial for an inside box card, using a fun stamp set given with Papercraft Essentials Issue 160.  I loved the stamps, and the dolphins, as I live beside Port Phillip Bay, where we often see dolphins playing - especially when crossing to the other side of the bay. The front of my card is simple, with no hint of the inside ... then on the inside there is a whole scene, including a frolicking dolphin.  My photo doesn't show it well, as I don't have many layers (I'll try that next time) but it is a little different and quite effective.  My blog friend Pri (who creates the most colourful cards) of Me and My Daily Papercraft has made a top fold 3D box card, and it is super - check it out here !  I'm only sharing mine because I hope to improve!

I have become enamoured with the Gorjuss girls by Santoro, and have featured a beautiful stamp called Rainy Daze on the Scrapbook Boutique blog today.  Not wanting to stop with just one, I have made a card using a smaller stamp, this one is Little Love, and she is simply too cute! A very simple card to make - just stamp and colour, fussy cut out and mount over some coordinating paper from my stash.  I did add a little 'friend' in the shape of a cute puppy, but that is it! Do check out the SBB blog too - there may be more to see there in the future, you never know!

Today's card is a special birthday card for a sweet 5-year old - the great-grand-daughter of a friend of mine. My friend requests a special card for her each year, as she is so happy to be able to share in this little one's life so regularly.  Grand-children are such a blessing to us all - they are all special! I CASEd the watery background from Amanda, of Little crafty pill  - not quite as dramatic as hers, but I love the variation you get by using a home made stencil for the waves.  The special birthday girl loves ballet and swimming, but as I made her a ballet themed card last year, we went with swimming this time.  I hope she likes it - for her great granny, especially. Stamps:  Magical day stamp and Magical Mates die by Stampin' Up!, the other mermaids are from an unbranded stamp set. Dies:  Numeral die by SU - Number of Years, and the shells are from an unbranded border die, cut apart Inks:  Distress Oxides - Broken China, Salty Ocean, P...

I intended to just post this card because I love how it turned out, but now see that it fits perfectly for Simon Says Stamp's Wednesday challenge , which is Wedding/Anniversary.  I'm thrilled that I can join that challenge, as the beautiful sentiment I've used is by SSS - 'Succulents' from a few years ago. I had seen rosette hearts on Pinterest and thought I'd try to create them for myself, and this heart is the result of those efforts.  I'm chuffed how the random patterns on my two-sided paper created a feature circle - I'll have to try to discover how that happened, but I'm so glad it did! The base card is by Kaisercraft - 13 x 13cm, the bronze spot paper is from my stash and the reverse scallop die is unbranded but a new purchase.

Welcome once again to  Scrapbook Boutique's  monthly challenge and blog hop.  You should have arrived here from  Angela's  amazing blog but if you didn't and want to start at the beginning, just click on the SBB blog link above and start again!   June mood board Now to the housekeeping part - if you want to create something or just join in to win, there are two ways you can participate in this challenge and have a chance to win a prize.  You can comment on each blog, ending with the SBB blog, or you can create a project (either a card, scrapbook layout or off the page project) inspired by this photo above.  Of course you can do both for a chance to win both prizes!  Please check out the rules of entry, and the prizes at the  Scrapbook Boutique Blog  and note that this challenge is open to Australian  and New Zealand residents.  Are you seeing spots?  There are certainly many of them, so I ho...

Challenge #372 at Less is More is a one layer card with the theme of Thinking of You, so I have made a sympathy card for my entry. It is always a good idea to have these kinds of cards on hand, for when they are urgently needed it is almost too difficult to make them. Simple masking and sponging, and a little stamping makes this a very quick and simple card. Ink:  Distress oxides:  Twisted Citron, Broken China and Wilted Violet, plus Versafine Onyx Black for sentiment and flowers Stamp:  Stampin' Up! Background Bits (Hostess) and sentiment eludes me. A little doodling around the corner to highlight the focal point.

I have a couple of cards I've made using MFT Basic Shapes -Triangles - stencil and various Distress Oxide inks.  I have a card on Scrapbook Boutique blog too, but couldn't stop at one, I was having such fun with those triangles! The first two cards were my first attempts using Distress Oxide colours of Broken China, Twisted Citron and Spiced Marmalade - they look great together! For this last card I used white ink on kraft card, and I also thought I needed a smaller triangle to complete my pattern, so cut one out of spare acetate for my last row of grey triangles. I hope you find time to pop over to the Scrapbook Boutique blog to see the card I have featured there!

Welcome once again to  Scrapbook Boutique's  monthly challenge and blog hop.  You should have arrived here from  Angela's  amazing blog but if you didn't and want to start at the beginning, just click on the SBB blog link above and start again! Here is the beautiful mood board for May Now to the housekeeping part - if you want to create something or just join in to win, there are two ways you can participate in this challenge and have a chance to win a prize.  You can comment on each blog, ending with the SBB blog, or you can create a project (either a card, scrapbook layout or off the page project) inspired by this photo.  Of course you can do both for a chance to win both prizes!  Please check out the rules of entry, and the prizes at the  Scrapbook Boutique Blog  and note that this challenge is open to Australian  and New Zealand residents. Below is my response to the mood board.  The image that real...

I have come across several tutorials on how to make sweet little paper bows on Youtube, and from those that I have studied, I've made quite a few in the last few days - they can be a little addictive.  References to the tutorials are: Origami Twist:   and Paper Kawaii With the bows, I've made a few cards - the idea of bordering an embossed front with origami paper and bow was seen on Pinterest This was my own idea as I needed to use embossed panel that was landscape orientation - love the gold flecks! My bows were made with square paper of 2.75" - a bit more fiddly than the larger bow, but cute!

On the Scrapbook Boutique blog today, I have a very bright and cheery card using the Altenew stamp set Painted Flowers.  Over here, I have a more subdued card, but I'm using the same stamp set, but I encourage you to pop over to the SBB blog to see my bolder and bigger version! These flowers are a 3-step process (Altenew's latest release has 6-steps - a challenge for me but the results look amazing!).  Once you get used to how to layer the three stamps related to each flower - my tip here is to use a marker to draw around all the elements of one flower or leaf on your storage sheet - you can have a lot of fun coming up with various colour schemes. I don't own the matching dies, but it's not really difficult to fussy cut these out - the dies would be very useful though - hint hint! Thanks for looking in - hope to see you again soon! Save Save

Welcome once again to  Scrapbook Boutique's  monthly challenge and blog hop.  You should have arrived here from  Angela's  amazing blog but if you didn't and want to start at the beginning, just click on the SBB blog link above and start again!   The challenge for this mood board is to use monochrome plus one colour - something really different for me - how about you?   Now to the housekeeping part - if you want to create something or just join in to win, there are two ways you can participate in this challenge and have a chance to win a prize.  You can comment on each blog, ending with the SBB blog, or you can create a project (either a card, scrapbook layout or off the page project) inspired by this photo.  Of course you can do both for a chance to win both prizes!  Please check out the rules of entry, and the prizes at the  Scrapbook Boutique Blog  and note that this challenge is open to Australian ...

Back to join Less is More for their Challenge #367 which is a one-layer card using a stencil. Very soft, I know, but I love hydrangeas and the way they often fade from pink to blue/green and this is the effect I was aiming for. Stencil and stamp:  free with Australian Simply Cards issue #115. Inks:  Distress Oxide Inks - Picked Raspberry, Broken China, Twisted Citron, with a little DI ink Mowed Lawn for shading the leaves. Sentiment stamped with Versafine Onyx Black flower centres embellished with Liquid Pearls in Mint Green.

Welcome once again to  Scrapbook Boutique's  monthly challenge and blog hop.  You should have arrived here from  Angela's  amazing blog but if you didn't and want to start at the beginning, just click on the SBB blog link above and start again!   Here is the mood board for March - lots of vibrant colour, texture and pattern in this one - I really love it! Now to the housekeeping part - if you want to create something or just join in to win, there are two ways you can participate in this challenge and have a chance to win a prize.  You can comment on each blog, ending with the SBB blog, or you can create a project (either a card, scrapbook layout or off the page project) inspired by this photo above.  Of course you can do both for a chance to win both prizes!  Please check out the rules of entry, and the prizes at the  Scrapbook Boutique Blog  and note that this challenge is open to Australian  and New Zeal...