March is the birthday month in my family and of course they all get handmade cards! A while ago we had one of those handicraft days again and I managed to complete nothing! I did come home with two half-finished cards tho and one of them was actually completed in time for my granny’s birthday! I’m amazed!

Here’s the card for my granny:
 
It says “All the best on your birthday” in german. I was actually thinking about her when I chose the colors for the card, I know she likes warm and vivid colors. The hardest part was how to finish it, I had to put some text or a sentiment. Anything! It was very empty with just the butterflies and ribbon, I’m very pleased with the results, for once.

This card was made for my mother, she loves tulips!
 
The tulips are hand made and colored, found a tutorial online for making awesome tulips, didn’t follow it precisely but they ended up looking very nice anyway!
It took me quite some time to figure out how to add the “congratulations” to the card and I wish I’d put the pearl stickers a bit closer to eachother. But hey, it’s handmade!

The next cards are for two of my cousins, one turned 20 and the other 13. For the 20 year old I wanted to make a classy card since she is very interested in fashion and always dresses very classy and good looking! She has style and I wanted her card to have that too. What makes something classy? It took me quite some time and googling for inspiration for this one but I think it ended up pretty well:
  
After my research I came to the resolution that classy and elegant cards are mostly very clean and simple with much white space and few decorations or details in one or two colors. Many cards were based on embossed paper or patterns which I don’t have or can make (I need a big shot or similar!). I do like to use colors so this became something between classy and my style.

I like it and I think the receiver did too! (The ribbon saved it all, I’m sure.. nothing says classy more than wide satin ribbons!)

The last card is for my other cousin who turned 13, I wanted to give her a cool card and my intention was to use no pink at all since it’s such a “girly” color but combined with black and white it does look a bit more cool than childish.
  
I think she liked the card, she loves dogs so at least she liked the stamp I assume, he he. But I do think she liked it even with the pink. The paper is gorgeous with metallic dots on it (from DCWV Black Currant). When I look at the pictures now I do think a black line or dashes at the edges of the pink paper would look nice, it feels somewhat empty and a bit simple. The card fold is called a center step card and I got inspired by the Alota Rubber Stamps challenge: Alota79 which is about making a center step card!

I found a few cards, completely forgotten somewhere on my disk, which I made during last year. I still have a lot of stuff to post sometime, some are old and some are newer. One day.. one day..

I made a card for my youngest cousin Lukas who had his naming ceremony a few weeks before Christmas. I’m not very pleased with the coloring on the stamp, it got a bit messy on the bear.

I also made a card for new year’s eve (most likely the reason why I never blogged it). Since I was invited for a party I made a card with the presents (it was sort of a combined new year’s and moving in party).
Quick and simple (oh I love to color stamps)!

I have lots of ideas most of the time and I always tend to start new projects but never finish them. I started working on a baby body for a friend who recently got a second baby boy, and since I entered some crafting competition last year too (also completely forgotten) I decided to make the present for the baby but I never managed to finish it, only the card which I really like! Unfortunately I still have the card here in my box.. waiting for another baby boy to be born :P

It’s the crazy card week of the year, at least that’s what it looks like to me!

Anyhow, today’s card is for the CFC challenge #35 which is all about making a clean and simple card with scallops and here’s my somewhat clean(?) but very simple card!

It’s hard to get good pictures when the card is very red, especially bright red or I just need a new camera (which I’ve already stated and it’s coming this year!) but you get the idea, the green does look somewhat better in real, slightly less yellowish (and dusty, he he).

Nighty!

And by the way, the card says “you’re so sweet” but it looks like I’ve spelled it sweat, I promise I didn’t! I’m just a bad and sloppy writer :P

Today I was inspired enough to make a card for the CASE Study Challenge #73 (CSC73). I started to think about the card yesterday, looking through paper and testing color combinations and today was all about putting it all together! I’m happy with the cards that doesn’t take me hours to finish, it was just about quick enough!

Here’s the card for the lovely challenge, I really liked the inspiration card and I hope I will use this technique many times (I just have to get me a few everywhere punches or similar).

I don’t know why but “tack” looks so much harder than “thanks” when written, it just never turns out good! Next time I’ll have a go with something in German for my granny. Now it’s time for some sleep, I have to get up early for work this week. Exhausting!

I read about a Gray, white and red card challenge at Going Buggy and thought it would be a nice challenge for making a somewhat more masculine card than I usually create. I also fell in love with the prices for the challenge, two super smart ProMarker wallets (one for each winner)! It’s exactly what I need to organize my pens! Super, super smart! If I don’t win I’ll add this to my wishlist for my birthday (but it’s over six months until then, who can wait?!).

Anyway, no chance to win without a card, right? So here’s what I came up with, found some inspiration online this time. I usually have a hard time figuring out what layout to use for the cards, that’s why I tend to enter layout challenges rather than themed ones, he he. Enough said.

I don’t know what’s going on but I’ve made four cards within the last week and I have a few more challenges I plan to participate in! I even craft when I get home from work which I normally don’t. I hope this is my inspiration coming back, otherwise I’m just terribly bored and rather craft than wash the dishes, he he, either way I’m happy with it!

Last minute crafting, here’s a card for the daring cardmakers challenge “First Friday” Colour Combo1 and my cousin who will be 1 year next week, yay!

The card says “Congratulations Lukas!” and I’m actually quite pleased with it, but now I have to go to bed. It’s friday tomorrow and that means I have to go to work a bit earlier. Hopefully my beginning cold will be better, but I doubt it to be honest..
Anyway, here’s another crappy picture of the card! I have to improve my photographic skills and buy a new camera. Luckily the lightning will be better later on, it’s so dark here in Sweden during the winter months.

The card is actually less yellow in real, but since I only have indoor lightning the pictures get a yellow tint and when I photoshopped it a bit the lightest paper became plain and white which it isn’t so.. oh well.. you get the idea and I get to sleep!