Taking part in a challenge

Hello there!
I can't remember the last time I took part in a challenge but seeing as I'm back, I might as well be back all the way! This week at the Simon Says Stamp Challenge the challenge is "STAMP IT" using the SSS exclusive products.

Here is my card for the challenge:

I used a piece of Tim Holtz watercolor paper and smooshed three different distress inks on to the card - picked raspberry, milled lavender and twisted citron. After drying, I cut it out using the largest die from the Simon Says Stamp stitched rectangles dies. 

For the sentiment, I used the SSS/Hero Arts Prayers Stamp and Cut die set from the 2015 STAMPtember release. I stamped the sentiment "sending hugs and ......to you and your family" with Versafine onyx black ink and die cut "prayers" with the coordinating die from Bazzill black card stock. I then adhered the card piece on to a black textured side folding A2 card from DCWV.

I hope you like it :)

Big hugs,

Becca

Lili of the Valley - Coffee Break 2

Hi!

Here's another card using the LOTV "Coffee Break" stamp. I stamped up two copies on to the paper and didn't want to waste it, so made this card. I love this paper pack from Dovecraft; the teas and cakes are mouth watering! ;)

These stamps are so cute and girlie. Lili of the Valley stamps are just darling.

It's funny when taking photos you never seem to see the colours as they really are. The green on the stamp here looks yellowy-green and doesn't match the papers at all but believe me, they are green! :)

Card recipe:
Background papers: Dovecraft "Tea Party" 6x6 paper pack
Cardstock: Bazzill / LOTV smooth white cardstock
Stamp: LOTV Coffee Break
Colour medium: Copic markers, Caran d'Ache watercolour pencils with Sansador

Have a great week!

Hugs,
Becca

Lili of the Valley "Birthday fairy"

Keeping in line with the clean and simple card I made with the LOTV stamp (Coffee Break) last week, I made these two cards with the "Birthday Fairy" stamp from LOTV along the same lines.

I love this stamp; it's so cute!

Card recipe: 
Card 1
Background Papers: Dovecraft "Tea Party" 6x6 paper pack
Cardstock: Bazzill / LOTV smooth white cardstock
Punch: Martha Stewart "Doily Lace" edger punch
Colour medium: Copic markers, Caran d'Ache watercolour pencils with sansador
Stamps: LOTV "Birthday Fairy" and LOTV Set 6 Dream Days circular sentiments

Card 2
Background papers: Dovecraft "Tea Party" 6x paper pack
Cardstock: Bazzill / LOTV smooth white cardstock
Punch: Martha Stewart branch punch, EK Success 1 3/4"  circle punch
Colour medium: Copic markers, Caran d'Ache watercolour pencils with Sansador
Dies: Spellbinders "Rose Creations"
Ribbon: Knorr prandell
Brad: Basic Grey

Thanks for looking.

Hugs,
Becca

Quick wedding card

I needed a card for a wedding and I needed it quickly and as I didn't have any suitable cards left in my stack (which is nearly empty as I haven't been making cards lately) I had to sacrifice an afternoon and produce something.
This is what I came up with:

Card recipe:
Papers: Bo Bunny "Crazy Love Collection"
Cardstock: Bazzill
Punches / Dies : Martha Stewart "Garden Trellis" deep border punch, Nestabilities classic scalloped circles, Nestabilities Labels 8
Stamps: Basic Grey "Wild Flowers", Lili of the Valley "Set 6 Dreamy Days Circular Sentiments"
Ribbon: Interio
Heart Pins: Anna Marie Designs

Hope you like it.

Hugs,
Becca

Love is the air

The wedding season is here and I want to show you a card that I made for my nephew (and now neice in law) who got married last Saturday. Sadly we couldn't go to the wedding as they live in the US but our thoughts and hearts were with them as they made their vows. Isn't love grand?

This Lili of the Valley image "Love Grows" suits the occasion just perfectly, don't you think? Aren't they cute together?
My husband will probably laugh at this image because when it comes to gardening, I suck! I just don't see what needs to be done and he has to drag me out of the house and tell me exactly what he wants me to do! But the symbol of the image is what counts - working together - come sunshine or rain and not forgetting that love needs to be watered and trimmed and looked after otherwise it will wilt and die.We wish the new bride and groom all the love in the world as they start their journey together!

Well, I'm off to get ready as we're going to a wedding apéro this afternoon - as I said, it's the wedding season and LOVE IS IN THE AIR!

Card recipe:
Stamp: LOTV Love Grows
Papers: Prima Sparking Spring 6x6 (DP) / Bazzill (CS)
Punches: Martha Stewart Heart Lace border, daisy flower punches, McGill branch
Die cuts: Nestabilities Classic square and Classic scallop square large
Ribbon: MeiFlower / St. Gallen Lace
Inks: Memento tuxedo black, Distress Inks forest moss,
Colouring medium: Caran d'Ache watercolour pencils with Sansador

Hugs,
Becca

Spring Swing

Hello fellow crafters!
I hope you are enjoying the lovely Spring weather? I definitely am! It's great that the weather forecast for Easter is sunny and warm as so many Easter Sunday's have been spent indoors due to the rain! We are having a mini drought here in Switzerland and the lakes are pretty low on water - so the rain can come next week when the kids go back to school :)
Today I took my youngest son (12 yrs) to the movies to see "Rio" while DH worked in the garden. That's a fair trade, isn't it? lol! We had a fun time together and we really enjoyed the film. We would both recommend it! :)

My card for today is an Easter card and what better way to showcase Easter than with a bunny! I used one of my new LOTV stamps from the March release called "Spring Swing" and I think he is just adorable!

Card recipe:
Stamp: Lili of the Valley "Spring Swing"
Papers: Nitwit Collections "Above and Beyond" maryfran / Bazzill
Medium: Caran d'Ache with Sansador (bunny) / Copic markers (swing, flowers and grass)
Die cuts: Marianne Design swirl / Magnolia Doohickey Tilda lace / Joy Crafts Butterfly
Embossing: Spellbinders Impressabilities-Flowers
Punches: Tonic flowers
Gems: stash
Ribbon: Meiflower

I am entering this into the following challenges:

LOTV - Challenge #93 "Easter"

Simon Says Stamp - "Emboss it!"

PaperPlay Challenges - Week #16 "Easter"

Creative Inspirations Challenge -  Challenge #57 "Easter"

Cute Card Thursday - Challenge #161 "No text"
ABC DT Challenge - "Easter Card"

Happy Easter everyone!

Hugs,
Becca

Romantic Tilda

Two cards posted in one day! I must be ill?! lol!

I had a hard time coloring Tilda's dress today and nearly threw the whole thing in the rubbish but thought "what the heck, nobody is perfect!" and decided to post her anyway. I WILL master shading one day! lol! Do you have days like this too?
I have decided that I am BasicGrey paper junkie - I can't go long without using one of the papers otherwise I go into withdrawl!! :) They just call out to me "use me, use me!" and I can't resist! :)
I used one of Bev Rochester's sketches; it makes life so much easier to follow a sketch - half the decision making is already done for you!

Card recipe:

Papers: DP BasicGrey Kioshi, CS Bazzill

Stamp: Magnolia Romantic Tilda, Lili of the Valley  circular sentiments

Colouring medium: Caran d'Ache pencil with Sansador, and Copic markers for the skin

Glitter glue: Knorr prandell

Ribbon: Interio

Punches: Gütermann (leaves, flowers)

Die cuts: Magnolia Doohickey Tilda Lace

Brads: Stash

I'm entering this into the following challenges:

Sentimental Sundays - Go Green

7 Kids College Fund - Mardi Gras

Magnolia-licious - Green

Thanks for looking and leave a comment if you want so I'll know you've popped by.

You make my day.

Hugs,

Becca

Fruity Tilda

It's been two weeks since I made a card - I've been feeling out of sorts and a bit demotivated - but today while I was looking at the different challenges I felt motivated to make one.  I'm hoping I have my mojo back!

The sketch for this card is from the very talented Bev Rochester over at Just Magnolia Challenge.

Can you tell that Tilda is ready for Spring? Look at all that gorgeous fruit - strawberries and cherries - and her muffin is a fruit muffin, naturally!

 

Card recipe:

Papers: CS Bazzill, DP Bearly Mine

Stamp: Magnolia Tilda w/ cowberry muffin

Punches/Dies: Carl flower punches, Magnolia Tilda Lace, Nesties circle and scallop

Inks: Memento Texedo Black, Caran D'Ache with Sansador, Distress Inks - walnut stain

Embossing: Cuttlebug folder swiss dots

Brads, pearls and doily from my stash.

I'm entering this into the following challenges:

Totally Tilda - Fuity Tilda

SimonSaysStamp - Anything goes

Just Magnolia and hAnglar & sTanglar - Bev's sketch

ABC Challenge - P is for Pearls

It's Friday, people! It's weekend! Yeah!!

Thanks for stopping by!

Hugs, 

Becca

Birthday card for my Mama

It's my mother's birthday next Saturday (Feb 26th) and I wanted to get her card done and sent off before this weekend was over. I'm always late and I didn't want to be this year. She will be 79! I am my Mama's baby - she was 39 when she had me (yes, you can all count - I'll be 40 next month!) - and I was quite a surprise for the family when I turned up eight years after the last and seventeen years after the first (we are five kids in total).
I've noticed that regardless how old you are, you will always be the baby of the family. I was pregnant with #3 before one of my brothers realised that I was an adult!! :) So this is why I chose this card for my mother, showing her that I am still her little girl........ pretending to be an adult! hehe!

I feel that this is my best card yet! I love the colours - pink and green are my favourite colour combinations and this stamp just screams girly pink. Don't you agree?

I used my last piece of this particualr design paper (BG Porcelain) and I don't know what I am going to do without it. I hope BG puts this collection on their digital kits soon so I can have it forever!

Here is my card recipe:
Cardstock: Bazzill (pink and green )
DP: BasicGrey Porcelain paper collection
Stamps: Lili of the Valley - Hello Cupcake (image) / Melissa Frances - Simply Said (sentiment)
Inks: Momento Tuxedo Black / Copic markers* / Ranger Distress Inks (walnut stain)
Die cuts: Nestabilities Labels #1 & Classic scalloped circles large
Punches: Gütermann (butterfly, leaves and flowers)
Ribbon: Knorr prandell
Gems: Basics by Kaiserkraft and Hero Arts
Doily from stash

*Copics:
Face and body: E000, E00, E21, R20
Dress and hat: RV10, R81, R83, R85
Hat, shoes, teacup and scallop circle: G21, G24

I am entering this into the following challenges:
Lili of the Valley: Challenge #84  - My favourite Colours
SimonSaysStamp Challenge: Make your own embellishment!
Bunny Zoe's Crafts: Challenge #9 - Spring....Flowers everywhere!

Thanks for stopping by and please leave a comment to let me know you were here! I appreciate you!

Hugs, Becca

p.s Barb - don't show Mum this post otherwise it'll spoil the surprise - ta! xx

Just Magnolia sketch

Hello there!

Did you all have a good Valentine's Day?
DH and I went out to dinner and a movie last night (oh the joys of having older kids!) and had a lovely time. We saw the new Russell Crowe movie "The next three days" and I was surprised how much I enjoyed the film (hubby chose it) as the read-up wasn't too exciting!

Today's card is taken from Mina's sketch over at the Just Magnolia and hAnglar & sTanglar Challenge Blog and to which I will enter:

Can you tell that I am wishing for a warmer climate? Look at Tilda's sleevless top.....oh....I'm counting the days when I can go outside wearing just a t-shirt instead of long sleeves and sweaters!! It's foggy here today........

Card recipe:

DP:  K and Company Classic K Bailey / Basic Grey Lilykate and Cappella

CS: Bazzill

Stamp: Magnolia Tilda with Bownot (Summer 08)

Inks/pens: Memento Tuxedo Black / Water colour pencils (hair)

Copic markers: E000, E00, E21. R20 - face

                        BG72, BG75 - jeans and hat 

                        R81, R83, R85  - top, bow and shoes

Die cuts: Nestabilities Large Oval and Large Scallop

Cuttlebug embossing folder - Flowers

Pink glitter glue (around the oval and on her wings and small blue strip of paper)

Flower: Prima and Rayher
Leaves: Cricut Storybook cartridge
Lace: from my stash
Sewing machine

Update:
I've never done this before - made adjustments and then re-posted a few hours later but I felt that something was missing and so I added the pearl gems. What do you think? Before or after the gems?

Thanks for stopping by and thanks in advance for your comments.

Hugs,
Becca

My valentine

Happy Sunday to you!
I hope you've all had a lovely weekend? Ours was good and school starts again tomorrow for us after one week off - winter break for skiing. We went twice and we had a great time. I left my camera in the car and could have kicked myself as the weather and the views were spectacular! Arhh!!

I worked on a valentine's card yesterday and used a Magnolia stamp - Tilda brings a flower for it.

I used the sketch from Friday Sketchers

and this is what I came up with:

I used BasicGrey's sugar rush papers for the background and the baby pink and raspberry cardstock is Bazzill. I love the busy "love" background - it is perfect for a valentine card. I coloured Tilda in with water colours pencils with Sansador. I am still waiting for an order of some additional Copic markers and can't wait for them to arrive. The hearts are Sizzix die cuts and the circle and scallop are Nestabilities.

I added pink glitter glue to the hearts and to Tilda's pocket and flower for some added sparkle.

For the swirls I used my Cricut Storybook cartridge and then added some Hero Arts pink gemstones.

 

I bought the pink polka dot ribbon on Friday at our local grocery store (!) and I love it (I bought a cyan blue one as well). The other pink ribbon is from Knorr prandell.

So what do you think of my "busy" valentine's card?

I am entering this in to the following challenges:

Friday Sketchers - Challenge #140

Basic Grey - All heart

Just Magnolia - Anything goes with the option to add ribbon

Magnolia Stamp Lovers - Glitter challenge

Simon Says Stamp Challenge - Love is in the air

Totally Tilda - Challenge #15 Tilda with lots of hearts

7 Kids College Fund challenge -  #14 I heart you
Bunny Zoe Crafts - Challenge #8 Love is in the air

Thanks for stopping by! I appreciate you.....

Hugs, Becca

Anything but a square....

...is this weeks challenge over at Lili of the Valley and I knew I had a small problem! This challenge was really going to be a challenge for me and I nearly didn't bother attempting it. But now that I've done it, I'm glad that I did because I love it! You see, I don't own any large die cuts, I just have my Nesties and they weren't large enough for this project so I had to put my thinking cap on.
Luckily for me, I have a Cricut and cartridges that cut out lovely shapes and this is how I cut my card. I used the Storybook cartridge and cut the Bazzill pink scallloped shape out at 5" and then the floral paper from BasicGrey Porcelain collection at 4 1/2".

I coloured the Lili of the Valley "Hello Cupcake" stamp with Caran d'Ache watercolour pencils and Sansador, and cut her out with Nestabilities Large circle and mounted her onto Bazzill cardstock (green) which was also cut with the same Nesties set. I then added 2mm pink gems from Hero Arts around the edge of the DP to add some bling and a small bow to finish it off.

I scored the back of the card to make a fold and then used the same Bazzill green paper cut out at 4 1/2" to make an inlay. The sentiment was stamped in Distress Ink peeled paint and is from Hero Arts Everyday Sayings stamp set. The lace is from my stash.

I'm really pleased with my card and hope you like it too.

Thanks for stopping by and leave a comment so I know you've been here. I love to hear from you.....

Hugs,
Becca

Ode to joy

We are a musical household. My husband is a pianist, the kids all play instruments, and our daughter is ALWAYS singing (I honestly think she would shrivel up and die if she couldn't sing!). Ours is a noisy home - creative, yes, but noisy nonetheless. My card for today is a reflection of this.
I bought the Penny Black "Ode to joy" stamp quite a few years back and used it to make birthday cards for my husbands' music friends. The three musical mice are just sooo cute!

I used Basic Grey's Curio 6 x6 papers backed with black bazzill cardstock.The papers are so soft and romantic with a hint of vintage/shabby chic look about them. The stamp was stamped on Canson Extra white-light grain-180g drawing paper with Stazon Jet Black and coloured in with Ranger's Distress Inks (tea dye, walnut stain, antique linen, tattered rose, victorian velevet and black soot).
The flower is from Prima's Essentials Jack N Jill collection with a flat backed pearl from my stash. The ribbon is Knorr prandell and the sentiment is from Hero Arts CL342 Everyday Saying stamp set. I think the "just a note...." was perfect for this card, don't you agree?

I'm entering this into the following challenges:

SimonSaysStamps - Animal antics

BasicGreyChallenge - Flower Power (Floral design paper-Curio)

Friday Sketchers #139  (I've mirror swapped the embellishments)

Some cool news for me: I booked my flight to go to England in March to visit family and to go to the NEC Hobbycrafts fair (24-27th March). I'm so excited and am already making lists of stuff that I want to buy. Roll on March.......

Wishing you a lovely, relaxing weekend and a big THANKS for stopping by.

Hugs,

Becca

Impressions

"Another altered journal!, I hear you say.
Well I bought two last week and as you know, I made one for my daughter's birthday which meant I had this one left over. So I decided to dress it up and give it to a friend who is moving away next month. She can either use it as a journal or a notebook - whatever she needs most. This is a totally new colour combo for me - brown, green and purple - I wasn't so sure at the begining but I think it's growing on me! LOL! You've got to challenge yourself, right?
I never know what to do with the sides - you know, the black bit on the left that you can't cover. What do you do to hide it? Any ideas? I guess buy the right coloured notebook to match your papers, right?
As I've used so many different products on this project I'll just put all the info in the card recipe below.

Card recipe:
Stamp: Magnolia Jam Tilda - 09 Yummy Tummy Collection
Papers: Déjà Views Plum and Apple 8x8 tablet / BasicGrey LilyKate (green floral) / Bazzill
Die cuts: Nestabilities large circle and large scallop / Fiskars scallop / Martha Stewart Vintage Doily
Spellbinder Impressabilites: Flowers
Ribbon: Knorr prandell
Flower: Bazzill  / Leaves: Cricut Storybook
Inks: Copic markers (face and body) / Distress Inks (dress, hair and socks and all edges)
Ribbons on the side: Michaels
Gem: stash
Sentiment: From the 8x8 tablet Déjà Views

I'm entering this into the following challenges:
SimonSaysStamp: Bingo (Punch/Diecuts, Embossing, Ribbon)
Magnolia Stamp Lovers: Sentiment
Just Magnolia: Sketch by Donalda
7Kids College Fund: Challenge yourself  (colour combo of brown, purple and green.....very new for me)

I hope to spend more time in my craft room next week - one project a week is just not enough. I have tons of ideas running around in my head and not as much time as I would like to make them happen.

Wishing you all a lovely Sunday and hope you can all recharge your batteries.

Hugs all,
Becca

Altered journal

Hello!

Well it's my daughter's 20th birthday today and I just wanted to share with you what I made for her.
She mentioned that she needed a new journal so I decided to buy a basic one and jazz it up a bit. The colours I chose reflect the colours found in her bedroom - red and orange. I'm happy to inform that she loved it! Phew......
As you probably guessed by now, I love Basic Grey papers, especially the 6x6 paper pads. I do have other papers but I always seem to gravitate towards BG. For this project I used papers from the Blush and Sugared collections and have decided to enter this into the BasicGrey Challenges

 

 

 

 

Here's a picture of the birthday girl taken last summer:

 Isn't she a cutie!

Card recipe:

Papers: Basic Grey - blush & sugared

Stamp: Magnolia - Summer Tilda with bownot

Punches: Martha Stewart - Garden trellis & Vintage doily / Fiskars scallop

Flowers: Bazzill & Heidi Swapp

Die cuts: Nestabilities Labels #8

Inks: Tilda was coloured in with watercolour pencils / all edges distressed with walnut stain

Extras: Knorr prandell - Glitter glue 

Brad: Basi Grey cappella

Ribbons: Michaels

I hope you like my creation and thank you for stopping by!

Hugs,

Becca

Coaster calendar

Teachers - what to get them? Well this year I decided on coaster calendars. This is one I made for Daniel's 6th grade teacher.
The coasters are 9x9 cm (3 1/2 inch square) and I covered them with Basic Grey's Green At Heart paper collection. I made the calendars myself in a Word document as the only templates I could find were in English. If anyone is interested in a German version, let me know and I'll email you a copy.

 

I also made a card with the corresponding papers and added the tree from the HA CL469 Swirl Christmas stamp set which has been inked with peeled paint distress inks, and the circular sentiment from Lili of the Valley. The green paper is from Bazzill and I used the Nestabilities Scalloped circle die to mount the sentiment. Thread and rhinestones are from my stash.

I hope the teacher will like them!
My youngest (Daniel) turns 12 tomorrow so I've got to do some baking. Bye for now and have a good day!

Thanks for stopping by.
Hugs,
Becca

Tilda with cracker

This is my last Christmas card that has to go overseas giving me a few days break before I have to do the local ones. I'll be off to the post office after this post to mail them. My family is spread throughout the world - a brother in New Zealand, a brother in the US, a brother, a sister and my mum in England, and me here. We are one international family!

I decided to enter the challenge over at SimonSaysStamps (a Christmas card but no red or green) and pulled out the Basic Grey Kioshi paper pack that I got in the summer and have yet to use, and threw this Tilda card together. Some cards take an absolute age but this one just flowed really easily and I was finished in no time.

I love the colour combination and these design papers are so pretty.

Card recipe:
Paper: Basic Grey Kioshi paper pad (DP), Bazzill cardstock
Stamps: Magnolia Tilda with cracker, Lili of the Valley circular sentiments
Die cuts: Nestabilities Scalloped circle large
Border punch: Martha Stewart Garden Trellis
Ribbon: Knorr prandell sky blue
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black, Copic markers
Embellishments: Stickles, snowflake punch and gems from my stash

Well that's all from me for the next few days. My house sorely needs some attention and sadly, laundry doesnt't do itself!

Thanks for all your lovely comments over the past few days;  I really appreciate it.

Hugs,
Becca

p.s I'm also entering this in the Just Magnolia "Make a Christmas Card" challenge

Catching up - Part 2

Hello everyone!

I hope you are well and are not stressed out with your Christmas preparations. Once I get these cards sent off then my list gets shorter! :)
It's snowing here again (well we are in Switzerland so I guess it's expected) so I thought I'd post a few photos of the snow fall we've had the past few days. It had nearly melted away last week but it's back....

 This is our balcony:

Anyway, on to the cards I made yesterday. I'm afraid it's a card overload!! Sorry about that.......

Card recipe - 1:
Papers: Basic Grey Jovial paper pad / Bazzill (red)
Stamps: Tilda on Christmas morning - Magnolia / Poinsettia - Inkadinkado
Sentiment: Hero Arts Holiday Sayings CL343
Die cuts: Nestabilites Label #1
Punch: Martha Stewart Garden Trellis
Inks: Copic markers / Distress Inks (Poinsettia)
Brad: Basic Grey

 

Card recipe - 2:
Paper: Basic Grey Jovial paper pad
Stamps: Tilda with giflts / Poinsettia - Magnolia Stamps
Sentiment: Lili of the valley
Ribbon: Knorr prandell crimson red
Die cuts: Nestabilities Label #1, Scalloped circles large
Embellishments: Stickles, Gems from Hero Arts
Tilda coloured in with Caran d'Ache watercolour pencils / Poinsetta with Copic markers
Sewing machine (this was my very first attempt to use a sewing machine with card making - I have to practice!! ;))

Card recipe - 3:
Card: Hero Arts Kraft
Paper: Basic Grey Jovial paper pad (red) / Bazzill (green)
Stamps: HA Swirl Christmas CL469 (tree) / HA Old Letter Writing S4878 (background) / HA Holiday Sayings CL343 (sentiment)
Inks: HA Shadow ink soft pool / Distress Ink - shabby shutters and walnut stain
Ribbon: Knorr prandell crimson red
Gems from stash

Card recipe - 4:
Card: HA Kraft
Papers: Digital kit Jessica Sprage - Seasonal Sampler(background) / Bazzill (red and green)
Image: I haven't got the faintest idea - the image was sent to me with an order. If anybody knows can they let me know :)
Sentiment: self made on computer
Coloured in with Copic markers, Stickles and Glossy accents (on the hearts)
Snowflake: HA Swirl Christmas CL469
Gems from stash
Sewing machine

I'm working on one more Tilda and she should be posted sometime this afternoon.

Thanks for stopping by.

Hugs,
Becca