Couple More Gift Sets

I know I said I wouldn't post any more of these but I did a couple in the in colors that I had available and seen as I don't have anything else to show you right now I thought I would go ahead and post them. These are Tangerine Tango and Kiwi Kiss. I am working on my New Years cards right now so will pop on after Christmas and show you them.

Have a Very Merry Christmas Everyone!!!!!

Hugs

Nic

Sneak Peek

Ok this is a little bit of a tease. I made this gift for my friend Lucy and seen as it's for christmas and she hasn't had it yet. So with this in mind....

All I can show you of it is this...



Bet you can't guess what it is.

It's been a bit of a rough week this week with amongst everything I saw my life flash before by eyes. Needless to say this here sneak peek is the only thing I have managed to get done. I will be back in full swing very soon though. I have New Years Cards to make.

Hugs

Nic

I'm Back - Sort of

Hi there

I'm back from an absolutely awesome holiday. I am slowly putting it all down in writing on my other blog. I am exhausted but still have so much left on my plate to do. I will do my best to get on here and show you things I'm doing. That's providing I can actually grab some me time in my craft room to do something.

In the meantime I wanted to show you this wonderful card that we got sent from a family friend back in Wales. It is so beautiful. I am gonna have to ask her how she did it and if she has a template.

Hugs

Nic

New Company & Candy

Just wanted to pop in and tell you about this great new Stamp Company. It's called Whimsy Stamps.

They are available from the talented Denise http://denisesstampingpage.blogspot.com/ She's finally decided to start her own company and has great artists lined up to draw the cutest little things you ever saw. She has images of her first 3 stamps up on her blog and a chance to win one of them as a candy. I would love to have these little fellows in my collection. Go check them out.

Turkey, What Turkey?

I wanted to share this little something with you guys. I have not crafted as such lately so have no cards to show you. There's just not enough hours in the day. But I did manage to help Megan with a project for school and I thought you might like to see.

The other day she brought home a picture of a turkey and we were asked to work on it all together as a family. We had to disguise the turkey so that it wouldn't end up as Thanksgiving dinner. Paul didn't have time to help and Jake wasn't really that interested either so it was up to us girls. Megan wanted to turn her into a Flower Princess. So I drew a load of leaves on some construction paper and gave Megan a pair of scissors to cut them out. Once she had done that I gave her a couple of my flower punches and some more construction paper and let her punch away to her hearts content while I set about sticking the leaves down. Megan made a large pile of flowers. She really had fun with the punches. We also made her a dress of yellow construction paper and then glued all the flowers all over both the dress and the leaves. Megan wanted her to sparkle so I stuck sparkler stickers in the middle of all the flowers and used a glitter pen down all the leaves. So here she is finished our flower princess. Do you think it's a good enough disguise?



FYI - Friday we are off on holiday to Disneyworld so there will be no crafting posts till December. However if you want to read about our adventure I will be attempting to keep the family blog up to date with news of our adventures. Have a Happy Thanksgiving and I will see you all again in December.

Hugs
Nic

I got an Award

My friend and fellow Blogger, Julie http://julietemple.blogspot.com/ has given me the Kreativ Blogger Award! She has been a dear friend ever since I joined Cards Made By Hand two and a half years ago. It is a MSN group that is in the process of moving to YUKU. She makes great cards. I hope you pop over and check her out.

Here's the rules:

1. The winner may put the logo on their blog.

2. Put a link to the person who sent you the award.

3. Nominate 5 blogs.

4. Put links to their blogs

5. Leave a message for your nominees.

Most everyone who I would nominate for one of these has one so you must excuse me for not passing it on. I would however suggest you take a look through my Inspiration list. All these blogs are awesome. I dare you to take a look and I bet you will like all of them. Go on take a look at them.

Christmas Tree Charlotte

I had planned to enter this on last weeks Whiff of Joy Challenge . The subject was red and green. But I was having some mojo trouble and by the time I got it ironed out the next challenge was up and running. Still here it is for your enjoyment.



Cardstock is Garden Green and Real Red.
DP is from American Greetings.
Image is Whiff of Joy.
Ribbon is Real Red
Sentiment is from SU Riveting
Circle Scallop and other circle punches also used
Sentiment mounted on dimensional

Things are gonna get a little quiet around here I'm afraid. I have got an awful lot of stuff to get done in the next 2 weeks before we go on holiday that clearly my focus is not on card making at the moment. I hope if I get time to create I will pop in with something new to show you. But I'm not sure how often that may be. Bare with me though as I will be back.

Hugs
Nic

Month Long Weekly Blog Candy

You can find it over on Vicki's Blog. http://www.stampedsmiles.com/

She is not only celebrating making 40,000 hits but it is also her Blogaversary.

Why don't y'all just pop over and check it out and congratulate her.

Here's a pic of what she is offering this week.

Hugs

Nic

pixie stix for school

I got this idea from http://chicnscratch.typepad.com/chic_n_scratch/2008/09/halloween-pixie.html. I just love the things she makes on her blog. I saw them and thought they were so cute I just had to do them for Jake and Megan to hand out to their friends at school. I entered them on the Stamp Something challenge which was to make something for Halloween http://stampchallenges.blogspot.com/



I tried to take step by step pictures so you can see each stage what I did.



First I stamped the image in color and using a 1 inch punch cut them out.



Then I stamped the image again in Black and punched it out using the 1 3/8 punch.



I then glued the colored image onto the black one.



I punched out scallop circles in the co-ordinating cardstock color and stuck these together also.

I placed white dots around the scallop using a gel pen. The scallop was then attached to the pixie stix using a glue dot. I punched more scallops out and attached one to the back with dimensionals.



The SU stamp set was Batty for You. The cardstock and ink colors used were Only Orange, Real Red, Tempting Turquoise and Orchid Opulence. The little bucket is from the dollar shelf at Target.

Thanks for looking.

A Quick Get Well

Here's a quick card. I used one of my favorite sets from Stampin Up, Loads of Love.

Cardstock is Bravo Burgundy, Garden Green and Night of Navy.

I put the garden green through my cuttlebug with the Spots and Dots embossing folder.

Embellishments include an eyelet, hemp cord and dimensionals.

I used the large tag punch, mounted it on navy card and then cut around it by hand as the small tag punch would not fit the whole saying in it.

Few More Notes For You

I know, I know you are probably fed up of seeing these. But I am finally finished, promise. These here are Wild Wasabi, River Rock and Soft Sky. Personally I think the stronger darker colors compliment these more than the lighter ones. But I wanted to try out all the old in colors to see which I like best. Well my favorite is definitely the green but then that is my favorite color. Which one do you like best? Links to the others are on the previous post.

Thanks for looking.

I've Been Tagged

By my friend Julie http://julietemple.blogspot.com/ . It has taken a while to post this as I consider myself not to be that interesting. It has taken me this long to think of something to write. but I have given it a go.

Here are the Rules:
1. Link your tagger and list these rules on your Blog.
2. Share 7 facts about yourself on your Blog...some random, some weird.
3. Tag 7 people at the end of your post by leaving their names as well as links to their Blogs.
4. Let them know they have been Tagged by leaving a comment on their Blog.

This is actually a tough task as most everything I do gets written up on my family journal blog. Not sure I have anything else up my sleeve to surprise you with.

(1.) I have to wear long sleeve and long legged pyjama's to bed or I wake up with a cold/flu symptoms. Dunno why but if my elbows and/or my knees are not covered that's pretty much what happens.

(2.) I am distantly related to Howard Keel. Very distantly. Who is Howard Keel I here you say. Goodness have you never watched an episode of Dallas.

(3.) I love Gorilla's. You probably had already guessed that one though, right? You have to watch Gorilla's in the Mist. Awesome movie.

(4.) I love cheesecake. It's my all time favorite desert. Followed closely by the chocolate mountain thing they have at chili's.

(5.) I watch WWE wrestling. It's all hubby's fault. If you can't beat 'em, join 'em. I have a crush on Batista.MMMmmmm.

(6.) I love to watch dancing shows on TV.... So You Think You Can Dance, Dancing With The Stars, etc. (just went to see SYTYCD live in concert - it was awesome) However I can't actually dance a step myself...LOL!

(7.) I have to have a cup of tea every morning to start my day. Just can't function without it.

Not sure who to tag next as everyone I know has already been tagged at some time or another and I don't really like surprising people I don't know with things like this so I guess if you can think of 7 interesting things about yourself consider yourself tagged and link it back to me.

Happy Stamping.

Hugs

Nic

More Nice Notes

I am finally getting around to finishing off my Christmas presents. I needed more of these than I realised so I have been playing with other colors. I plan on working my way through all the last round of in colors. I think so far I have made groovy guava and purely pomegranate which you will find here:

http://gorillamamagreats.blogspot.com/2008/07/fresh-cuts-notes.html

http://gorillamamagreats.blogspot.com/2008/07/fresh-cuts-box-for-notes.html

http://gorillamamagreats.blogspot.com/2008/07/more-notes-and-fixed-mistakes.html

Today I used Blue Bayou and I made some of both sorts. The originals and the fixed mistakes. I think I like the fixed mistakes one the best.lol. What do you think?



This time around I utilized a wonderful new tool. Well it's new to me lets put it that way. I finally broke down and got myself a Scor-Pal from my friend Joani and my gosh am I a happy bunny. Making the boxes for these are a piece of cake now.

CC187 - Boys Birthday

I just love these colors. Don't you? I needed a couple of Birthday cards for boys and usually struggle to make masculine cards. The color combo over on Splitcoast stampers this week was just the inspiration I needed.





Cardstock is Chocolate Chip and Kiwi Kiss. DP is Stampin Up and has Tangerine Tango in it. These are all the colors for this weeks color combo challenge. The ribbon is also SU. The image is a stamp I just bought off my friend Renee. I think it's from rubber stampede. Sentiment is from one of my Changito sets. Very simple card. I keep looking at it and thinking it needs something else but can't put my finger on what.

There's Blog Candy About.....

Go check it out Nikki is celebrating the High Hopes Blog Hop and her birthday with awesome high hopes stamps up for grabs. http://bunny-zoes.blogspot.com/

Karin has made a new challenge blog and is celebrating with some candy, including a Whiff Of Joy stamp. Go check out the candy here: http://karinhoeve.blogspot.com/ and the new challenge blog here: http://www.christmasandbirthdaycards.blogspot.com/ . I am always in need of birthday and Christmas cards so I will be joining in this one for sure.

Silly Monkey Crafts also has a blog candy going on right now. How about you take a look at the fabulous work of the DT and put your name in for a chance to win. http://sillymonkeycrafts.blogspot.com/

One more peeps. Natalie has some pretty awesome candy up for grabs also. She is celebrating her 1 year blogoversary. http://nattykcards.blogspot.com/ these ladies all make great cards. Please make sure and pop by to just check them out.

Hugs
Nic

Halloween Cards

I got some Halloween cards made last week. Both for a swap on Joani's MSN group and to send to family. It is not as big a deal in the UK as here it seems so I just made them to send to our parents.

I just love these dancing skeletons from Inkadinkadoo. I wanted to use both of them so I stamped 3 in a row as 2 just didn't look right. My cardstock I used a couple of the new colors from SU, Tangerine Tango and Kiwi Kiss. The DP is from K&Company. The skeletons have been watercolored with kiwi kiss and orchid opulence. The sentiment is from House of Haunts. The photo corners were made using a square punch and cutting them in half. I then scored them with my cutter and my bonefolder. The image is mounted on dimensionals and the card is finished with 2 black metal dots.

Thanks for looking


Hugs
Nic

Jake's Mushroom Box

Have not been in my craft room much since I finished that big batch of cards the other day. I do have something to show you however. A few months back I showed you a picture of a tissue box that my son and I had turned into Gary the snail from Spongebob for my sons school valentine collection. Well his latest love is MarioKart and he has been collecting characters and making his own little Lego karts. He wanted somewhere to store them and thought we could decorate another tissue box with a theme to what was inside the box. And so the mushroom was born.

The box was covered with red construction paper and the spots punched out of cardstock using a circle punch. The white body part underneath was made using a large empty raisin box covered in white paper with 2 pieces of black card for his eyes. It's a very simple make and Jake loves his new container.

Thanks for looking

Hugs

Nic

Finally Finished

I had a work friend of my husband ask me if I would make her Christmas cards this year. I was flattered. I showed her pictures of all the Christmas cards I have made to date and she chose 2 that she liked. They are actually ones I made for a blog candy entry on Gabby's blog http://confessionsofastamper.blogspot.com/ last year. Gabby you may remember these. she wanted 15 of each design. So needless to say I have been busy on these for a while now.



I used the same sketch and color scheme for both cards. just changed up the cardstock, DP and images.



The first lot of cards used Chocolate chip Cardstock and Ink. The SU sets are Big Celebrations and Holiday sampler. I colored the image in with pencils. My scallop circle and other circle punches got a lot of use. There is a button brad on the word Joy.



For the second lot of cards I used Close to Cocoa cardstock and ink. The SU sets are Cold Play and All Through the Year. I cut the hat out and mounted it on a dimensional and punched 2 small holes either side of the image to thread the snowman's ribbon scarf through. This time I ran the DP through my Cuttlebug.



Once they were all finished I made a simple bag for them using a brown lunch sack and SU sets Snow Swirled and Riveting. I finished them last week and hubby took them into work for her. She was over the moon.

Thanks for looking

Hugs
Nic

More Material, More Projects

Yes I've been spending more money at the craft store. This time on my Daughter Megan. I found these awesome patterns at Jo-Ann's. She has been pestering me for long sleeved dresses. For the cold weather. Now here in Texas we don't get a lot of cold but we do get the occasional chilly day so when I saw this pattern I got very excited. The other pattern just looked so like Megan I couldn't resist.

Here with the patterns are the two pieces of material I chose for them. They are both corduroy therefore should give Megan the warmth she wants but they are still lightweight that they shouldn't make her too hot in them. Below are close ups of the materials. I am very excited to get to work on these. I have some other projects to work on right now as they are more time sensitive so I will be on here with cards and stuff but I may not be doing the challenges so much unless they fit in with what I am doing at the time.

Thanks for looking

Hugs
Nic

Bayou Cinderella

Sticking with the princess theme I found these awesome stamps at Target the other day. It's a set of over 30 stamps for only $20. Knowing I had a little princess in the house I just had to have them. I actually broke them out yesterday to make a card for my niece.



I used Katharina's #12 sketch over on Papertake weekly this week. As soon as I saw the sketch I knew it would make a great card with this set.



I used Blue Bayou cardstock, ink and ribbon. I had found a awesome DP from Cloud Nine on clearance at Archivers. It matched perfectly. I watercolored Cinderella's image and circle punched her out. I punched a scallop circle of blue bayou to go behind her and I dyed a flower blue bayou using my ink pad. The sentiment is SU Small Script. To add a little bling and sparkle I finished the card with some Stampendous Sparklers.



Thanks for looking.

Hugs
Nic

Megan's Princess Doll

Ok gonna back track a little here cause I forgot to show you this when I did it. For her Birthday Megan got a make it yourself doll from our friends Lucy, Richard, Amethyst and Jack. She has wanted one of these for the longest time and has been admiring the one that Amethyst had. So for her birthday Lucy got her one. She was over the moon. It was one of her many favorites. Actually I don't think she had anything that she didn't like.



Anyway she pestered for days to get me to make this for her so we finally took it out of the box on the third day of pestering and had a look at what was involved. It looked pretty straight forward mostly sticking no stitching. But with things like this that have step by step instructions I tend to get a little OCD and have to read each step at least 10 times before I commit to actually doing it. Needless to say due to this it took a couple of days to finish.



However with Megan's supervision and much under breath swearing (from me). Here is Megan proudly showing off her most prized possession.



Thanks for looking

Hugs
Nic

Whiff of Joy DT Time + Candy

Why don't you pop on over to Michelle http://donkeysmiles.blogspot.com/ She has the cutest blog candy up for grabs right now.

*

*

I think I may have just scraped this one in just in time. The call for DT member has been for the last couple of weeks and ends today. You'll find the details over on Katherina's blog http://katharina1704.blogspot.com/. Unfortunately I have been super busy with other things that I will tell you about later. Anyway I sat down this morning and focused my energy on one thing instead of 10 and this is what I came up with. You had to pick your favorite Katharina sketch. That in itself was impossible cause they are all pretty fantastic. So I decided to just pick a recent one to run with. Still not 100% sure I like this card though.

Here is the sketch I chose:

And here is my card:

Cardstock is Old Olive and Espresso.

DP is Heidi Grace.

Image is Willow with Hot Chocolate from Whiff of Joy.

Ribbon is Chocolate chip satin.

Large brads are antique brass.

Cuttlebug folder distressed stripes

Thanks for looking

Hugs

Nic

Winner and Spotlight Candy

So before school this morning my Daughter Megan pulled a number out of a box and the number she picked was:

4

This belongs to Julie, She said:

Congrats, Nic! I have ya posted on my Blog...thanks so much for the chance!Hugs,Julie

Congratulations!! I will get that in the mail today as I have your address. Thanks so much to all of you that took part. I was hoping for a little bigger turn out but that's ok. Maybe next time. I hope you keep dropping by to see what I'm up to.

ATTENTION!!!!!!!KEEP READING!!!!!!!!

Now I just wanted to let you know about another awesome Blog Candy out there. This one is for a very good cause, in celebration of World Alzheimer’s Day and the awesome caregivers. The prize is enormous. Please pop over and see Cammie's Blog http://myblogbycammie.blogspot.com/ You have to make a card to enter for this candy and send it to someone you know who is a caregiver or to the address Cammie provided. Mine is finally finished.



I chose the color purple as it is the Alzheimer's charity colors. Cardstock is lovely lilac and elegant eggplant. The image is a tilda I just bought from my new found blogging friend Nikki http://bunny-zoes.blogspot.com/. I could not resist inking her up straight away. The ribbon I got in a ribbon share with Emily Giovanni http://emilygiovanni.com/ a little while ago. Flower is from a stash my Mom sent me with a brad in the middle.

I know exactly who to send it to also as a very good friend of mine is a caregiver.

Thanks everyone

Hugs
Nic

My Blog Candy...

I have made it to 5,000 hits. I promised you candy and here it is. I have a mat stack, some 3D stickers and maybe a few extra surprises. If you would like a chance to win all I need from you is a mention on your blog about my candy. Try and spread the news so to speak and a comment here to let me know that you have done it. You have until Monday September 22nd. I will let my daughter pick the winner out of a hat seen as she is the birthday girl this month. I'm off to prepare for Ike.



Surprise No.1 here's a House Mouse stamp. This one is so cute I bought it twice.LOL.



I am going to keep this post at the top till the 22nd so please scroll down for new posts.

Thanks for coming by and good luck.

Hugs
Nic

Silly Monkey DT Attempt

I have been blog hopping. I have such a large list that I try and go see these days. I don't think half of them are on my Inspiration list due to the fact that there are just so many of them. I really need to update my list for you guys. So that you can go see some of the awesome blogs out there right now. So many talented ladies, so little time.

Anyway on my usual hop I found out that Silly Monkey Crafts http://sillymonkeycrafts.blogspot.com/ are looking for a new DT member. I loved the sketch that was provided and had the very image and sentiment pop straight into mind. So I thought I would try my luck and see what happens.

Here is the Sketch:



and here is my attempt at it:



I used Groovy Guava and Sage Shadow cardstock. The DP is from Cosmo Cricket. I found it in a little scrapbook store in Fredricksburg, TX. They had it reduced to .50c a sheet so I think I took all they had left which was 9 or 10 sheets. I also tried paper piecing for the first time ever. The DP is double sided so I used the alternate side for the umbrella. I then finished the card using Prima flowers attached with silver Brads.

Thanks for looking and wish me luck.

Hugs
Nic

Megan Thankyou's 2008

Megan had lots of presents for her 6th birthday. Both from family and friends so I decided to make cards that could both be handed out and mailed internationally. For the hand out ones I went for small and simple. Making 3 x 3 inch cards for the ones that needed mailing I made my usual 4.2 x 5.5 inch card.





I started with Rose Red cardstock for the base of both cards.
I also used Soft Sky and very vanilla.
Ink was Rose red.
Vanilla Ribbon
I used my Cuttlebug with Thanks folder.(for larger card)
Scallop circle punch was used also 2 regular circle punches
Scallop Circle was mounted on dimensionals


Megan also got a make your own princess card kit from her Nanna and Grancha and wanted to use them to send thank yous to both sets of grandparents. Here are Megan's masterpieces. They are going in the mail tomorrow.

Everybody Shout...Blog Candy!

No not me at least not yet although I have made it to 5,000 hits so will be having one very soon. Keep your eyes here for a blog candy on friday.

This is for Suzanne's Blog. http://scrapbitz.blogspot.com/2008/09/angel-of-blog-candy.html She is the Guest designer for whiff of joy stamps and thanks to Katharina she has a whiff of joy stamp and other goodies up for grabs. you just have to go check it out. Not just for the blog candy but also for the awesome cards she makes.

More Candy: http://bunny-zoes.blogspot.com/2008/09/blog-candy-20000-hits.html Nikki is celebrating 20,000 hits with some High Hopes candy.

Karin http://karinhoeve.blogspot.com/ has hit 10,000 and is also celebrating with blog candy.

Don't miss Sharon's awesome Blogaversary http://notimetostamp.blogs.splitcoaststampers.com/ there's not just one blog candy up for grabs but many. Quick go see.

Speaking of Whiff of Joy. I got my new Willow stamps in the mail today. I hope I have time to play with them soon. I have so many projects stacking up there's just not enough time for everything.

Hugs
Nic

Award Time

Joani, has surprised me once again and has given me another award. It is the Brillante Weblog award. I must pass this on to 5 women who's blogs I think are brilliant.


1. Kimmie at http://kraftinkimmieskorner.blogspot.com/.


2. Katharina at http://katharina1704.blogspot.com/.


3. Suzanne at http://scrapbitz.blogspot.com/.


4. Gabby at http://confessionsofastamper.blogspot.com/.


5. Rach at http://papercraftsbyrach.blogspot.com/.



I have a long list of blogs I wander on a regular basis but these are my current favorites next to the wonderful Joani herself http://joaniscardsmadebyhand.blogspot.com/ who's blog I always enjoy visiting.

Papertake Charlie

During the rounds of blog hopping I spotted this week's Papertake Weekly sketch. It's one of Katharina's and she is also offering one of her latest stamps as a prize. The new selection of stamps went on sale on Wednesday and these ones are illustrated by Elisabeth Bell I don't have this stamp as funds meant I could only afford to get 2 stamps this time around and the sketch was very appealing so I thought I would try my luck and make a card for the challenge. I chose to make another Christmas card with a stamp from one of Katharina's other collections Charlotte and Charlie. I chose Charlie and his snowballs. I am trying to get ahead on my Christmas card making. Although Halloween cards are also calling my name. Someone please give me more time in my day.LOL



The cardstock is not quite navy, whisper white and soft sky. The DP is a double sided paper from Heidi Grace. The sentiment is from the SU set Coldplay. White ribbon was tied at the top. The image was colored using watercolor pencils and mounted on dimensionals. I have put a little glitter to highlight the snowballs. A fairly simple card but it makes a big impact. According to the big WOW I got when my husband saw it last night. I have to say it looks really nice IRL.

Thanks for looking

Hugs
Nic

Dream Big

I wanted to make a card for my nephew who is getting his cap and gown this month. We are extremely proud of him and wish we could be there with him but unfortunately we are in Texas and he will be in Wales. So I wanted to make the card very special. I saw the sketch challenge posted by Julie on Joani's MSN group 'Cards Made By Hand' and it was instant inspiration.



I got out my Think Big set (I just love this set) and my Sketch an Event set and got busy. My cardstock for this card is real rust and night of navy. The ink is real rust and green galore. The DP is from BoBunny. The green is a textured cardstock. The hat is mounted on a dimensional and I finished the card with 2 black brads.

Thanks for looking

Hugs
Nic

Sketch Saturday DT Double

I was blog hopping this morning looking for inspiration and found that the challenge blog Sketch Saturday http://sketchsaturday.blogspot.com/ is looking for design team members. I thought seen as I loved the sketch this week that I would make 2 cards instead of the usual one and see if I'm lucky. You never get anywhere if you don't try right. Here's a pic of the sketch. If you fancy your luck too or just want to try the sketch anyway follow the link and go have a look see at her lovely example cards.



And here are my cards:



The first one was asked to be a Christmas card. Since getting my whiff of joy stamps I have been itching for the opportunity to use them all, so this time I chose Charlotte and her cat. I colored her in using my watercolor pencils and aqua painter. Her hat and muff have fun flock on them. First time I have ever used it. It was a lot of fun but a little messy.LOL. The cardstock is Soft Sky, Black and Whisper white. The DP is called figgy pudding from Basic grey. It is 2 sided I used the other side for my middle panel. The sentiment is from SU warmest regards. The card was finished with a flower punch and a snowflake brad.



For the second card I flipped the sketch over and made this birthday card. I need some masculine cards desperately as I have a few male birthdays coming up and did not want to have to resort to hallmark at short notice. For this card I used the same SU set for the sentiment but pulled out my awesome TAC set called take pride for the image. First time to ink for this baby. I have been neglecting a lot of my stamps lately. I seem to buy them and then I forget I have them. So I intend to try and work though my sets TAC, SU and others and see if I can make at least one card per set. The DP is HOTP and the middle strip is some awesome cardstock that my friend Sonya sent me ages ago from the Netherlands. "Look Sonya I finally got around to using it. Thanks again" It is textured and looks just like elephant skin. Other cardstock used is creamy caramel, black and very vanilla. I used my large star punch, spiral binding punch, and 2 circle punches. I also used a large brad and my crop-a-dile.