Flamboyant Colours

There's a section in my filing cabinet filled to the gunnels with card sheets from Kanban, so I had a root through them and found these flamboyantly colourful images ... enough to brighten up anyone's Sunday afternoon don'tcha' think?  
This would be the perfect image for Masquerade Ball invitations.

6" x 6"

5" x 7"

DL

Easel Card

Combined with some pretty paper from Papermania, snippets of coloured card stock and a couple of sentiment stamps - the result is a collection of 4 very different cards.  
I'm heading back to Pixie's Playground again this week to enter my easel card for their Snippets Challenge.   They're keeping a swing for me so would be rude not to go and play!
Would also like to enter Crafting When We Can- At The Movies ... obviously the movie would have to be Masquerade.

Finishing up for today with something a lot more subtle.

Another Kanban sheet but this time showing a cute wee girl with a fluffy bow bedecked sheepdog.  Adorable!  Some pink papers and ribbon are added to make a card suitable for any age and any occasion.  I'm going to enter it in the challenge over at That Craft Place where the theme is For A Child.

 

Pretty Flowers

Decided to be ruthless the other day and began bundling up all the craft magazines I have accumulated over the years with a view to getting rid.   Surprise, surprise! ... I came across some pretty My Mind's Eye papers tucked inside a pile of mags hiding under the bed.  So I picked out a couple of sheets of my favourite design and made a few cards. 
 
The first is a Get Well card for my daughter's school friend who is recovering from recent surgery.  I cut a panel of paper and adhered it to a DL card blank.  The cute bear image reminds me of Boofle and was recycled from a 2012 calender which I cut out before adding some sparkle and the simple greeting is from the Personal Impressions stamp set - Double Sayings.  A few adhesive gems, and flowers add a touch of additional bling. 

A really simple but effective card idea is to take a square of design paper, mat it onto a slightly larger piece of coordinating card, (leaving a small border), and place it in the centre of a square card blank.  Then I added a stamped greeting from a set by Country Companions, (another magazine freebie found under the bed!), adhesive gems and a couple of pretty butterfly embellishments - job done!  Fingers crossed that this one qualifies for entry into DCC410 over at The House That Stamps Built but they're looking for Clean and Simple so this may be a wee bit too fussy.  No matter though 'cause I still like it and it does work for the Flutter By Wednesday Challenge - Anything Goes 'cause there are 2 butterflies.

Finally I took one of the offcuts, matted and layered it onto pink, then knotted some pretty satin ribbon around the panel before matting onto white linen and silver mirri card.  A 2nd panel was created from the last remaining scrap of pink card matted onto silver and white linen panels, then decorated with gorgeous wire flower embellishments. 
Following the A313 Sketch Challenge at The House That Stamps Built, both panels were then glued into place on an A5 white linen card blank before ovelapping them with a stamped greeting from the same freebie set as before.  Pink adhesive gems add a little bit of blingy balance.

Am off to explore blogland and see what everyone else has been up to this week.

Back To Blogland

YOWZA!
Where did 2012 go in such a hurry?
It's been such a long time since any crafty blogging has happened here ... so thank you to all the faithful followers who haven't jumped ship during my absence. 
It's fair to say that 2012 was a barren year for activity here at MCC,  although 'real life' was anything but ... being pretty hectic at times and frequently verging on chaotic!  My biggest problem was finding the time and enthusiasm to deal with it all effectively following my surgery. 

The intention for 2013 is to be more organised in all areas of my life and hopefully my mind will follow suit ... so fingers crossed I'll be able to do all the things I want to do, both crafty and otherwise and still have enough time and energy to share snippets of it all with everyone.

But  ... before that and to kick things off, allow me to share just a few of my 2012 cards that didn't get an airing. 
If you have any questions about techniques or supplies used, then leave a message and I'll do my best to answer your query.

Babies

(Kanban Kit)

(Stamping and Embossing)

(Stamping and Embossing)

(Stamping, Inking and Mirri Card)

(Inside View)

(Digital Stamping and Promarkers)

(Digital Image and Stamping)

(Inside View)

Birthdays

(Digital Image and Computer Sentiment)

(Inside View)

(Kanban Kit)

(Inside View)

(Kanban Kit with Butterfly Embellishment)

(Inside View)

(Kanban Kit and 3D Elements)

(Kanban Kit and Diamante Ribbon Buckle)

(Kanban Kit, Pearls and Glitter Paper)

(Inside View)

(Kanban Kit and Cupcake Wrapper Decoration)

(Inside View)

(Kanban Kit, Mirri Card and Ribbon)

(Inside View)

(Doodling and Stickles)

(Inside View)

(Easel Card and Diecutting)

(Recycling)

(inside View)

(Digital Stamp, Paper Roses and Ribbon)

Other Occasions

(Embossing and Stickles)

(Inside View)

(Kanban Kit with Black and Gold)

(Inside View)

Wedding Fever

I was recently asked to make a wedding card and was given free rein with both design and colours.  GULP!  Sometimes having this much freedom can be more difficult than when customers are specific about what they want, but I decided to try a few ideas and let her choose a favourite.
Which one would you choose? 
If your selection matches the actual card chosen then your name will go into a draw for a wee crafty prize. 
Deadline midnight GMT Sunday 22nd July.
Click the photos for close-up views.

Design 1
A linen effect white card base decorated with blue and white diecut hearts layered onto diecut blue and silver mirri card, embellished with a simple bow and greeting.

Inside shows diecut panels and a simple stamped message.
 
Design 2
I created an off centre gatefold from A4 white linen card, adding a panel of textured burgundy card and a matching Kanban wedding topper.  A simple bow and stamped greeting are the only decoration. 

The slim panel shows white padded hearts and satin ribbon matted onto layers of white and burgundy card.

Inside, a panel of white linen card has been corner punched and decorated with diamante gems before being matted onto burgundy card and stamped with a greeting.
I'd like to submit this card as my first entry to
Sparkles Monthly Challenges - 34 Weddings
 
Design 3
I opened an image from my flowers folder in PSP (PaintShop Pro), and typed a greeting before printing onto white linen cardstock, which gives a look almost like canvas. Both elements were then matted onto silver mirri. 

White organza ribbon was wrapped around the fold on a landscape base card and tied in a bow with pearl gems added for decoration.

The inside message was stamped onto white linen card before being matted onto silver textured card and placed inside.
I'm hoping this card is eligible for entry into
Southern Girls Challenge 48 - Pearls
Sparkles Monthly Challenges - 34 Weddings (2nd entry)

Design 4
I created an easel card base from cream cardstock and opened another beautiful rose image in PSP, adding a greeting onto the image before printing this time.

The easel card panels were then decorated with pretty paper from Papermania Confetti pack, matted onto black and gold mirri and the main image was then adhered to the front panel with foam pads.

Wide cream organza ribbon was wrapped around the back and tied in a knot and a matching bow was added to the image panel. 

The stopper was created using more layered panels of paper and card adhered to the base with foam pads before being decorated with paper flowers, pink ribbon bows and pretty iridescent fabric butterflies.
A greeting was stamped and embossed with gold powder, then diecut and matted onto black and gold card.

A matching box completes the ensemble as this card is way too bulky for an envelope.
I'm entering this card into
The Cupboard Trilogy - Colour Palette Challenge
The Cupcake Craftroom - July: Layers
Sparkles Monthly Challenges - 34 Weddings (3rd entry)

PLEASE REMEMBER...
Don't forget to leave a comment with your favourite from the selection and you may be lucky enough to win a prize.