Spring and Easter

AAA Cards Along the edge with die cuts only twist

Hi there!

It’s time for another challenge at AAA Cards!  This fortnight we’d like you to create a CAS card using just one edge of your card. Our optional twist this time is ‘die cuts only’.

This is one of my favourite twists – I absolutely love using my dies! Although this card was a little nerve-wracking…

It’s almost cherry blossom season, so I pulled out my Penny Black Swinging die set and used the branch and flowers to create a little spring scene! I coloured all the die cuts with my distress inks and added a little detail to the blossoms with a coloured pencil before adhering them to the top of my card.

Now for the nerve-wracking part…

I had originally decided to use a die cut sentiment on my card, but they all looked a little heavy with the delicate die cut… so rather than stamp a greeting, or leave the card blank, I decided to use a Simply Graphic die to cut a sentiment into the card base. That late decision meant I had to put the assembled card through my Gemini to cut the sentiment…. Yep, I held my breath when I fed those plates through!! I was so relieved when it turned out exactly as I’d hoped and my die cuts were intact. Phew!

My team mates have come up with some beautiful cards which are on the AAA Cards challenge blog. We are also joined by a previous challenge winner Wendi who has some really cute inspiration on her instagram feed!

Hope you can play along with us!

Thanks for stopping by!

LucieG.

 

Leaf -trimmed egg

Happy St Patrick’s Day!

Today I’m playing along with the Color Throwdown which has a St Patrick-themed palette for us this week (gold, light green, dark green and white).

As you know I’m in the throes of Easter cardmaking and when I saw the colour combo I was a little perplexed – how could I use this in an Easter card. Then I stumbled across some amazing Easter cards on Instagram. The designer had used some leafy die cuts on an egg – suddenly inspiration struck! I pulled out the Poppystamps Sylvan Sprig, a Memory Box egg die and distress inks and got to work!

I was originally going to add a die cut gold sentiment, but in the end I used the Marianne Design Art Texture Mesh die for the gold accent and a stamped sentiment by Taylored Expressions.

Thanks for stopping by!

LucieG.

A Nest of Eggs

Hi there!

As you know, I love playing along with challenges whenever I can but this week’s Freshly Made Sketches really made me think! You see, I wanted to use it for an Easter card but everything I tried just looked odd! I toyed with rotating the sketch so that the focal point would be in the bottom right corner, which I use all the time…. but my competitive side didn’t want to give up on that top left corner…

I flicked through my Easter supplies and spotted the Memory Box Twiggy Nest that I bought last year but sadly never got round to using. I knew it would be perfect for this sketch! I blended some Frayed Burlap distress ink on my card base and then adhered the nest, some eggs from the Poppystamps Folk Decorated Eggs set and branches from a Sizzix set. The sentiment is also by Memory Box.

Thanks for stopping by!

LucieG.

Happy Mother’s Day 2021!

Hi everyone!

Just wanted to share one of the cards I gave to my lovely mum today!

My mum adores all cats and so I knew one card I made for her would have to be kitty-themed. I pulled out another unused die that I bought when it popped up in Simon Says Stamp’s ‘deals and steals’ section – the Kitty Cat die.

I made three cats, colouring them with distress ink and adding a little face to each of them. Their whiskers are from the cats in the Penny Black set – I just love those curly whiskers, don’t you?

Finally I added an Avery Elle sentiment… and a few small gems.

Thanks for stopping by!

LucieG.

Starting on my Easter Cards

Hi Everyone!

I didn’t manage to make many Easter cards last year because, well 2020! So when I received my very first Easter card yesterday, I knew it was time to pull out all my Easter supplies – I have a lot and they need to be used!!

So here is my first Easter card for 2021. I used the beautiful Simon Says Stamp Tulip Collage background die and added the Poppystamps Folk Decorated eggs and a couple of smaller eggs from a Marianne Designs set. The sentiment is from a Your Next Stamp set.

Thank for stopping by!

LucieG.

A host of golden daffodils

Happy Sunday everyone!

Today I’m playing along with the Color Throwdown (yellow, salmon/orange, green and white).

Of course when I saw the palette and the inspiration photo, I knew I had to do another daffodil card. This was a labour of love! I used the daffodil border stamp from the Pretty Pink Posh Spring Days set and fussy cut the images. Then I coloured them all in… which took forever! Finally the colouring was done and I was able to layer my images on the card base. I used a Memory Box sentiment to complete my card.

I have had the beautiful Wordsworth poem in my head all weekend, so I wanted to share it here:

I wandered lonely as a cloud
That floats on high o’er vales and hills,
When all at once I saw a crowd,
A host, of golden daffodils;
Beside the lake, beneath the trees,
Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.

Continuous as the stars that shine
And twinkle on the milky way,
They stretched in never-ending line
Along the margin of a bay:
Ten thousand saw I at a glance,
Tossing their heads in sprightly dance.

The waves beside them danced; but they
Out-did the sparkling waves in glee:
A poet could not but be gay,
In such a jocund company:
I gazed—and gazed—but little thought
What wealth the show to me had brought:

For oft, when on my couch I lie
In vacant or in pensive mood,
They flash upon that inward eye
Which is the bliss of solitude;
And then my heart with pleasure fills,
And dances with the daffodils.

Thanks for stopping by!

LucieG.