Mario birthday

The kids went to a birthday party last weekend where the theme was Mario Kart. Of course I had to make a Mario birthday card and party bag for the birthday boy!

I found a bunch of Mario images on the internet and printed them off onto glossy photo paper. For the gift bag, I just cut the images out and then layered them onto the bag. According to the kids, Yoshi (the green dinosaur creature) is the favourite so I used him for the card. I was thrilled to find a picture of Yoshi holding a crayon - a bit of Photoshopping allowed me to add the sentiment so that it looked like Yoshi was writing it himself. I used papers from Basic Grey for the backing and last week's sketch from Eat, Sleep, Stamp for the design.

Challenges:

• Creative Card Crew - Child's play (are your kids addicted to video games?)
• Cute Card Thursday - Re-use a sketch (I picked last week's sketch from ESS)
• Fabulous Friday - Stripes and polka dots.
• Moving Along with the Times - Anything goes

ABC Christmas Challenge Profile

This week Feline Playful (and me as the team lead) is being profiled on the ABC Christmas Challenge blog! Please check it out and leave a comment!

As part of the guest profile I was asked to make a card for this week's challenge - "I" is for "indigo" and "ice". I've been wanting to use this new Dreamweavers stencil and after seeing the inspiration picture (see below) I had the idea of gluing dewdrops onto some of the embossed berries. I'm loving my clean & simple Christmas card!

Challenges:
ABC Christmas Challenge - "I" is for "indigo" and "ice"

Claudia & Co - Clean & simple

Totally Gorjuss - bling it on (glitter on patterned paper, dewdrops)

Tattered heart

Every once in awhile I come across a card design that I absolutely MUST scrap-lift and today's card is one of those special designs. I found the design in the latest issue of "Papercraft Essentials" magazine. The designer is Kim Dellow and this is just one of several cards that she designed showing how much can be done with a simple heart punch.

I made this card for my BFF Jacqui and it was really important to me that it be done in "her" style so I had to stretch myself somewhat. I started with some Basic Grey patterned paper which I stamped over randomly with a couple of small fern-type stamps (also Basic Grey). Next I sponged blue and red ink across the page. The last step - and the hardest for me - was tearing the paper into strips and inking the edges. I can be a bit of a perfectionist and anything free-form (like paper tearing) is almost painful for me. I'm pleased that this only took 4 tries before I was satisfied with the result!

The hearts were cut using scalloped heart Spellbinders. I love the way the cardboard heart turned out - I used a piece of an old box, roughly tore off the cover layer of paper and then sanded and inked to bring out the ridges. The smaller heart really pops up although it isn't apparent in this picture. To make it, I actually cut 3 hearts in all. Two are folded in half and then adhered to the front heart for a springy pop-up.

All in all, a striking card with just a touch of Tim Holtz (I used his distress inks, of course).

Challenges:

Craft Your Passion - show us your layers

Creative Craft Challenges - something recycled (the cardboard)

Fashionista Friday - recycle

Just Add Ink - friendship

Moving Along with the Times - recycle

Partytime Tuesdays - anything goes

 

Have a super birthday

The kids have 3 birthday parties to attend over the next 2 weeks so I'm tasked with making a stack of boy birthday cards this week. Here is the first one.

I just love the Bugaboo digital stamp line "A Kids View" - they are so striking and fun. I went very primary with the colours on this card so I kept the embellishments to a minimum. I was thrilled to find this scrap of patterned paper with wonderful bold stars that quite coincidentally matched the shape of a small punch in my drawer. I punched the small stars from scraps of the pattered paper so the colours matched.

Challenges:

• Critter Sketch - use 2 different punches and/or dies (I use a star punch and a Spellbinders die)
• Going Grey with Scrap-Creations - use a digi
• KB Cute Monday - birthday
• Simon Says Stamp - card for a child
• Stamp with Fun - birthday
• Stampavie & More - birthday

Monochromatic Easter

I love the colour orange when other people use it, but rarely do I find orange on my own cards. So why, then, did I decide to go monchromatic orange on this Easter card? I guess I must've been feeling a bit under-challenged or something.

Digital stamp - Sliekje's Digi Stamps (Sliekje has 100's of free digi images that are too, too cute)

Papers - We R Memory Keepers "Peep" collection 

Sentiment - Create with TLC

Spellbinders die cut, Copic markers, Distress ink

Sketch - Midnight Madness

Challenges:

• C.R.A.F.T. - Easter
• Creative Inspirations - Easter
• Die Cut Dreams - Easter
• ECP Challenges - Easter
• Little Red Wagon - Easter
• Magical Monday - Monochromatic
• Sentimental Sundays - Celebrate Easter
• Sliekje's Card Challenge - Spring
• Totally Papercrafts - Spring

Hurrying to wish you a happy Easter

It's almost here ... can you hear the hippity hop of the Easter bunny's feet as he gathers all those Easter goodies for kids (both young & old)?

Today's card uses a Doodle Dragon image that was offered as a freebie a short time ago. Dustin Pike is always so incredibly generous with his freebies, although, honestly, his stamps are so inexpensive it's like he's giving them all away!

I coloured this cute bunny with my Copics and then matted it on some bright patterned paper from by scrap box. The finishing touch was 3 love heart stickers. I used a card sketch from I {heart} 2 Stamp.

Challenges:

• Cooking it up with Katie - 1 image, 2 pp, 3 embellies
• Craft Your Days Away - Easter
• Creative Belli - bunnies/eggs
• Creative Inspirations - Easter
• Dream Valley Challenges - Easter
• I {heart} 2 Stamp - sketch
• Scrappy Frogs - Easter
• Sisterhood of Crafters - Easter

Spring has sprung

Driving home from the store this afternoon I saw the most incredible thing - flowers! Yes, my neighbour has a yard full of crocus, larkspur and daffodils. Now, I suspect some of these were transplanted because I'm pretty positive they weren't there yesterday, but nonetheless, it's a sign of Spring. In honour of this wonderful sign of better weather to come, I created the following card:

 The image is a long-time freebie from Doodle Pantry (isn't the bird just too, too cute doing his happy dance?) and I used a sketch from Card Patterns.

Hope you, too, are seeing the signs of Spring all about you!

Challenges:

• 2 Sisters - Spring
• A Spoon Full of Sugar - all creatures great & small
• Doodle Pantry - use a Doodle Pantry image
• Dream Valley Challenges - things with wings
• Fashionista Friday - Spring
• Raise the Bar - birds
• Secret Crafter - our feathered friends
• Top Tip Tuesday - Spring has sprung