Be my Valentine

A little while ago a very good friend told me what he looks for in a card, both to give and to receive. The basic premise was that it needed to get the message across in the simplest form with the minimum of clutter. He did put it to me in a much more eloquent way than that :-)

With that thought in mind I decided that a Valentines card needed to encompass those things, simple, uncluttered and to the point. I hope he would approve (though perhaps the addition of a gem made it a bit OTT!) ;-)

Nikki
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Mothers Day....

After appalling failures to remember birthdays and anniversaries in 2013 I'm going to try and be more organized in 2014! I still haven't really worked out how... putting it in my diary and remembering on the day is too late, but if I set an outlook reminder too early I'll also forget that! Not good for someone who makes cards eh!

In the same vein I'm also trying to be more organised with my card making for 2014, and have Valentines Day sorted...probably the only one I don't really need to be bothered about, so it's not quite going to plan just yet! ;-)

One that most definitely will work though is Mothers Day. I'm currently trying to use all my little scraps from previous card making sessions....you know, the bits that you made a few too many of while trying to work out what you were going to do the first time round (am I the only one who does that?), only to end up with lots of different odds and ends which would normally end up in the bin. This Mothers Day card is the first of a few cards using my odds and ends...I really like how it turned out.

Thanks for stopping by.
Nikki
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Retro Fresh

I hope you all had a lovely Christmas. I was very fortunate not to be affected by the floods and power cuts other than a small blip, which was insignificant compared to the days of no power for some. Hopefully everything will be back to normal for everyone very soon.

For my card today I've used a new Designer Series Paper (DSP) coming in the Spring/Summer seasonal catalogue at the end of January. The colours I've used are Tangerine Tango, Chocolate Chip, Very Vanilla and Coastal Cabana - I think they make a great combination.

Stay safe.
Nikki
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Mosaic Madness

Some more scrapbooking today. This one is an 8" x 8" and is really clean and simple. I've used the Mosaic Madness set and matching punch to create the little accents on the page, along with a Vintage Brad in the top right hand corner. There's a small amount of stamping using Off the Grid, and in hindsight I think I could have done with a little more, but as I'd stuck everything down I didn't want to risk it ;-)
The little tag which is tucked behind the photo of my nephew pulls out to reveal details of his birth....nearly 10 years ago now!!

Thanks for visiting.
Hope you have a happy and peaceful Christmas.
Nikki
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Little Leaves - Convention reject!

This turned into a reject for my Convention swaps...too much cutting for 80 swaps, much as I love the Little Leaves die I really didn't have time to cut out and stick down so many!

This card was created by stamping the Postcard image in Early Espresso onto Whisper White card, followed by the Off the Grid image in the same colour. I then added some more background detail with Gorgeous Grunge in So Saffron (I may have withdrawal symptoms when I finally stop using this set ;-)). The card was finished by layering up some punched shapes, with the Flower Shop pansy image placed on top. The flower was stamped in So Saffron and then I used an Early Espresso marker to colour the centre before stamping the image.

Nearly Monday again already!
Hope you have a great week whatever you're doing.
Thanks for taking time to visit.
Nikki
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Summertime - Clearance Rack DSP

I usually hate photo's of myself, but this one always makes me smile. Ten minutes before this was taken I'd just got off a boat that was making a trip round Malta, and was feeling very queasy, so what then possessed me to get on another boat is a little bit of a mystery, but I was glad I did...this was a powerboat thrill ride and was extremely exhilarating, even if I couldn't actually see anything for the amount of salt water spray in my face ;-) 

 

I've used the Sycamore Street DSP on this layout, the colours of these papers go so well with summer and beach photos.....they are currently available in the Clearance Rack but only while stocks last, so if you fancy a pack of this paper for yourself at a very reduced rate then pop over to my online shop and grab yourself a great bargain.

 

Thanks for looking.

Nikki

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Seeing Stars

Now for something a little less 'feminine'. This card was actually created totally by happy accident from the stamping off whilst putting my convention swaps together. The pattern on the scrap paper I was using looked very similar and it triggered the thought to create this. I know, now that I've looked, that there are card backgrounds quite similar to this on Pinterest, so although it's not a uniquely original idea, it's original to me :-)

With the addition of a little ribbon and a sentiment, this is a very quick and easy card done in just a few minutes.

Thanks for stopping by.
Nikki
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