1st Crafty Cardmakers Challenge

This is my DT card that I have submitted for the 1st challenge over at Crafty Cardmakers for 'Flowers'

I have used an older sketch from Stamps & Smiles for the layout of the card. I have changed it from a DL size card to a standard A6 and you can see that it still works really well. I love to use sketches but always remember they are to be used as a rough guideline and most blogs will allow you to turn them around or adjust the layout slightly to suit your project better. You will find that as you take part in more challenges you will get braver and will have more confidence to change them to suit you better.

I have used a pale pink base card and the papers are all from a K&Co 6" x 6" pad by Tim Coffey called Young Girl. If you buy co-ordinate pads you can be sure that if you mix designs together that the colours will work. The ribbon style strip is cut from one of the papers in the pad and I have matted it only a layer or white card just to make the definition better between the 2 papers.

The big flower has been recycled from some silk gerberas I used to have in my bedroom. When you start cardmaking you will soon look at materials in lots of different places and see ways that you can use them in your cards. These days especially with spare pennies being tighter we can all see ways of re-purposing items and using them in this wonderful, but sometimes expensive hobby we have.

The flower laid on top has been made from one of the papers in the pad. A great way of getting more use out of your papers is to make your own embellishments by cutting around individual elements. In this case I have cut around one of the flowers and mounted it on 3D foam. This makes it stand up away from the silk flower. I have then cut out a centre circle from another flower, stuck some more 3D foam on the back and added it to the centre. This is called decoupage and gives your card more height and interest. As a finishing touch I have added some Stickles glitter and a clear glitter pen by Sakura to the patterns in the flower, any excuse to add a bit of twinkle is fine by me.

I hope I have inspired you to look at your patterned papers in a new light and make your own 3D layered embellishments. I hope you will take part in our 1st challenge and look forward to seeing your cards.