A card for a boy

Making a card for a boy is probably one of the hardest things for me. Reason : Lack of embellishments. Really now, a card without a few flowers or butterflies, some pearls and a bit of lace... what does one do to make the card special, one of a kind?
One of the things I found was to use shapes. Shaped cards always have that extra wow factor which a regular rectangular card sometimes lack. So here is my double fold card for a little boy

It is simple. It is neat and it just relies on the colors to make it stand out.
The papers are from DCWV. The image is one of my favorite Precious moments.  Unfortunately, we have had a cloudy / rainy weather for the past few days and I wasn't able to get a good picture. The colors are far more vibrant than they appear in this pic.

The insert is embossed with the cuttlebug embossing folder and I used a die from the spellbinder Parisian motif to make the pull-out tag.
Submitting for the following challenges
2 sisters challenge blog
where the challenge was " Bring on the boys"

and
Pile it on
where the challenge was "Two or more folds"

Yay...it may be coming back

We have all experienced those frustrating times when nothing works....well to be more specific, nothing that is created seems to have that extra appeal, nothing is beautiful....And I have been in that mojo-less place for sometime now and I spent my time doing other things - reading books, trying to get on the treadmill, munching down Chips Ahoy etc. etc. Started many a cards and then ended up scrapping them. But yesterday, it seems everything clicked. May be, it's coming back. Fingers crossed...
I started with the sketch from Sketch Saturday challenge and the colors from the beautiful inspiration picture at The Shabby tea room and this is what I came up with.

The papers are from K& Company French Country Collection. The flowers are all made from rice paper and then colored except for the little yellow rose which is from my stash from so long ago, I don't remember where I bought it. Everything is distressed with vintage Photo distress ink from Tim Holtz. I have not yet written the sentiment, it will be written when I am ready to mail the card.
The inside of the card is quite simple.

Just enough space to write a nice note.
The card is, surprisingly, quite light and should be easy to mail.

Submitting for the following challenges:

The Shabby tea room  where the inspiration photo was

 and we needed to add a dimensional flower, plenty of those on my card :)

and the
The Sketch saturday challenge
where the sketch was

I think I went a little off sketch but it is still pretty close, right? Well, I did really enjoy it, so....

Follow your dreams

It's once again that time of the year....
Children graduating from school / university and trying to find their way and their place in the world. As a parent, one is always equal part proud and an equal part apprehensive / scared 'cos now that our little ones are off to the real world, it is so much harder to protect them. Though the urge remains....the perils of parenthood :)
Back to the card..
I made this card for the daughter of a dear friend who is graduating from school this year. Our families have known each other since she was in second grade and it is a pleasure to see her blossoming in to this beautiful and wonderful young lady. Go conquer the world.....

This is my first circle side step card. Was a bit of a challenge since I am really bad at " measure it twice and cut it......" blah blah. I am more of a touch, feel and whatever looks good kind of crafter who believes templates are just guidelines ( I am equally bad at assembling furniture or anything which comes with "instructions" )
There is a small metal charm hanging to the left, to remind us to walk our paths "in style" :)

Submitting for the following challenges

CR84FN color challenge
where the color challenge was

and
Everybody-Art-Challenge
 where the challenge was to use lace and shapes

and
Charisma Cardz. challenge
where the challenge was to use a metal charm

and

Truly Madly Crafty Challenge
where the challenge was to use 5 of something...and I have used five flowers ( the fifth flower is partly hidden on the last step )

A new appreciation....

I have always marveled at the talent of the card makers around the world and their generosity in not only sharing their art but also the techniques, tips and tricks. And now, after being out of updating my blog for a really long time, I have a new found appreciation for all those who manage to make such beautiful cards at a regular and mind-boggling pace. Hats off to you all, ladies....

My card this week, well, it took a lot longer than a week to make ( LOL ) followed the sketch at the Sugar Bowl Challenge blog

 

And my interpretation of the same is

The stamp is "Reflective" Sugar Nellie

The background paper is from a dozen or so DCWV paper stacks that I own !

For the brick layering , I just cut a card stock paper in to rectangles and stacked them...put a bit of color using the chalk pastels and voila....

Really proud of my hand made flowers, especially the one on the left. Doesn't it look very Prima type??

Submitting it to the following challenges

The Sugar Bowl Challenge

and 

Crafts and Me Challenge Blog

where the challenge was to use punches and/or dies

and I used both, of course. My trusted Spellbinder oval for the image and punches for the flowers.

A long time

I haven't uploaded anything to my blog for a long time. The truth is that I was getting bored of doing similar cards and wanted some freshening up of my creativity...So I took a break, surfed the web looking for ideas to incorporate, not just from cards but anything and everything that is beautiful - from color combinations to different techniques. And I am once again awed by all the wonderful, talented people out there...
Here is my creation, a bit different from my other cards

I used paper layering technique here.
I intentionally made this card with neutral colors. All the branches / trees were hand drawn and then cut. The little round buds on the top most trees are punched out circles which were then glued on ( that one took some time and patience ! ) The flowers were cut from one of the DCWV stacks but they were in purple color, so I just went over them with black marker and they look great.
And the inside is

It is a pop-up butterfly. Very easy to make and the red backing papers makes it look spectacular, if I may say so myself :)
Here is a close-up

My first attempt at a pop-up card. These are so fascinating, aren't they.....
I think I am going to make more of these....soon.

Submitting it for the following challenge
Tuesday throwdown challenge