I'm A Card-Making, Pennant Monster!

Ah! It's been a strange old week! I had a little bit of a reaction to one of my injections for India (which is now only a week away - excited) and have been unbelievably ill. Bleh! So there's been very little craftiness in this house over the last week. The inspiration has been there, the inclination has not.

But, after reading through the posts in Going Postal, a new blog series by Julie Kirk, I had the undeniable urge to make cards. So I sat down last night, cracked open my Counterfeit Kit for July, and came up with a card inspired by Julie's General Greetings.

The base of the card is quite simple - a little patchwork of co-ordinating papers and a bit of stitchery. To create the pennant greetings, I stamped the ticket image from Admit One and used Jessie's ABCs to add the lettering. (Both sets are available from Make The Day Special.)

I then 'strung' them onto some embroidery thread (by sticking them with double-sided tape) along with some colour co-ordinating beads. And voila!

I've never used the tickets as pennants before, but I feel a lot of cards on this theme coming on. I have a feeling that Julie may have inadvertantly created a card-making pennant monster!

All Packaged Up {Giveaway Winner!}

I just wanted to say a really big thank you to everyone who took the time last week to visit Make The Day Special and join in our Get 'Em While You Can Blog Hop. All of the DT Girls were thrilled with the extra love!

I've had a little giveaway planned for one lucky follower of the Make The Day Special Blog and thought it was about time that I put you all out of your misery. I used Random.Org and then checked the blog's followers....

....which means Louise, you're a winner! I'll be contacting you later on today to ask for your address and then I'll be packaging up this little pretty.

It's decorated with a combination of embellishments from The Girl's Paperie, Precocious Paper, John Lewis' Haberdashery - and, of course, some stamped images from Blissful Botanicals and Harvest Of Memories. Inside there's a little packet of tickets I stamped using Admit One, plus the Sweet Little Notes I showed you yesterday. There's also some handmade flowers, jars of teeny tiny embellishments and some pretty, pink lace.

Remember, if you entered any of the other competitions along the way, you'll need to visit everyone's blogs to check whether you've won. You never know what could be waiting for you!

Sweet Little Notes

After finishing up a craft project, I often find myself with small leftovers and there is nothing more pleasing than finding a use for them! Yesterday, I ended up with a long piece of stripy kraft cardstock. I decided to cut it down into smaller pieces and create some sweet little notes using the teeny tiny stamps from Sophie's Sentiments and Say Cheese Too.

It can be all too easy to overlook some of the smaller stamps in these sets, but I think they're really versatile - and they're fun too! I also added a couple of small sentiments to the mix, by only inking up part of the larger phrases. You can see that with just a few stamps, some black ink and a little bit of time - five minutes to be exact - I ended up with something I can use in other craft projects, instead of something to add to the scrap pile.

I'm thinking gift tags, tiny journalling spots, or cute card toppers - lots of options. So, make the most of your own stamps by constantly looking for new ways to use them!

And, don't forget that some of the giveaways we featured as part of last week's Get 'Em While You Can Blog Hop are still open - including my own - so now's your chance to make some last minute entries.

Cobwebs Cache Jewellery Giveaway

Louise Goodchild, of Cobwebs Cache, is having a bit of a giveaway over on her blog to celebrate 50,000 views of her Flickr Stream. And believe me, once you've visited Louise's Flickr Stream, you'll understand why people keep going back.

Blossom Hill Tree Of Life from Cobwebs Cache

Louise's creations are - undoubtedly - beautifully executed, but I know there are many other talented wire artists out there. What sets Louise apart is her playful imagination and whimsical designs. Each and every one of them takes my breath away.

Golden Tree Of Life from Cobwebs Cache

Honestly, I can't really believe that I'm telling you all this - because all I'm doing is reducing my own chances of winning! But hey, I'm a just 'good deed' kind of person.

Have a good week folks x

PS Don't forget about my own giveaway which is open until Saturday 16th July.

Get 'Em While You Can {Make The Day Special Blog Hop}

Hello! Hello! Welcome to Make The Day Special's Blog Hop! Today, we're all showcasing some of the beautiful stamp sets that, unfortunately, are running low and *sob* won't be re-stocked.

We'll soon be seeing the last of Smeared Ink, QKR Stampede; Unity Mounted Singles; and Unity Co-Brands - Cosmo Cricket, Samantha Walker and Iron Orchid Designs. You can't buy these ranges in other UK stores, so it really is a case of first come, first served on these stamp sets. Get 'em while you can!

If you're a regular visitor, then you'll know that stamping is a fairly new addiction for me. I was only a semi-serious stamper when I joined the DT for Make The Day Special, but since then I have become devoted to learning new techniques and trying new styles.

However, I must admit that when Emily sent me the - undoubtedly beautiful - Paris Stamp Set from the Iron Orchid Design range, I went into a little panic. They just weren't a style that I'm used to creating with. Not to be defeated though, I sat down to create a 'shabby chic' style card and, you know what? I have never loved a card more. The stamps look delicious - and, let's face it, they've done most of the hard work for me!

Frame and Butterfly - Paris Stamp Set from the Iron Orchid Design range and Enjoy This Day Sentiment - Life Becoming from the Unity Store Kits range.

***So, to celebrate the blog hop - and the fact that I've embraced a new style - I'm going to have a bit of a giveway.*** I'll be sending the lucky winner a set of these shabby chic style cards, along with a little package of handmade embellishments - some stamped, of course. And you all know I do Pretty Packaging, right? To have a chance of winning, you'll need to make sure that you're a follower of the Make The Day Special Blog. How simple could that be?

I'll announce the winner's name next Sunday. So, you have plenty of time to visit the rest of the DT Girls, starting with Jo over at Here I Go Again, who have more lovely designs and giveaways planned for today. Yay!

The Patriot {July's Counterfeit Kit}

The inspiration kits for the Counterfeit Kit Challenge was 'revealed' yesterday morning and, because I was poorly sick, I didn't manage to use any of the kit I created last month. So, I've decided to keep it small and simple this month. I'm going to concentrate on using my kit this month for cards and maybe a mini-album, but I'll keep last month's kit in mind for layouts. It all depends on what life decides to throw at me next!

There were three inspiration kits to choose from this month, but keeping in mind that I wanted a small and simple kit, I chose to focus on the Liberty Shores kit - full of red, white and blue. Obviously the original was full of Americana, but being quintessentially British, I can still call a kit with these colours patriotic! Yay!

My paper selection is definitely on the small side - compared to normal. There's cardstock in red, blue and kraft, a collection of smaller scraps in similar colours and several papers which were free with the latest issue of Simply Homemade Magazine.

I was a little more generous with my embellishments, adding tons of floral embellishment, crocheted doilies, ruffled ribbons, buttons, brads and a handful of matching trims and threads.

And, in keeping with the Counterfeit Kit Challenge's urging to Use Your Stamps To Their Fullest Potential, I'll be creating a lot of my own embellishments this month using my stamps from Make The Day Special. There are too many suitable sets to list them all now, so I'll make sure to include details when I'm using them.

Right, I'm off to try and make something. It's been too long since I sat down to do some crafting. Have a great month Counterfeiters x