Bit of a shock..but a nice one!

Well, the title says it all. I logged onto the PC this morning, checked my emails etc and had a quick potter around some of my favourite haunts.

As the Pink Petticoat blog revealed itself, I was amazed to see one of my cards featured. I sent in a few of my latest cards to show Liz (lovely Miss Pink Petticoat herself) how appreciated her monthly freebies and designs in general are. The card above is one of the ones I made and posted about a day or so ago. The background, flowers and frame are all Pink Petticoat designs).

A quick peruse of the Pink Petticoat blog shows how incredibly talented those who wear pink petticoats are! If you look at the Customer Gallery, it's part hugely inspiring, part a bit depressing as the standard of ideas and actual execution are so high.

I've a big smile on my face today and it's given me and my cardmaking a real boost in confidence. I don't have nearly enough time and energy to devote myself to making cards, scrapbooking, sewing, altered art etc. The lack of energy is particularly depressing (raise your glasses to my hosts M.E. and Fibromyalgia). But for today (at least) I'll stop being so gloomy about not being able to do as much as I'd like, and just enjoy that I manage to make anything (which in itself all too often is an all too distant dream).

Cardmaking, I never left you!

What with making fabric flowers, sewing beads onto fabric for my pretty box and tearing my hair out over the wooden letters, cardmaking has taken somewhat of a back seat for a while.

Being as it is cardmaking that revived my creative urges (so to speak) after years in the artistic wilderness, I had been feeling increasingly disloyal to my pretty papers, rubber stamps and glue pen to name but a few of my papercraft friends!

Yesterday I received the October newsletter from Pink Petticoat which proved a great incentive to step away from the paints, fabric and thread and embrace my old friend, the paper trimmer.




Pink Petticoat deserve a mention here as well as a recommendation. If you haven't heard of Pink Petticoat then do look them up as they have a great site full of inspiration for contemporary cardmaking using original and really fun and primarily 'girly' designs.

Best of all, if you sign up for their newsletter, as well as an initial 'Welcome Pack', every month you are emailed a link to download more FREE papers. They're all original designs and I think of them as 'feel good' cardmaking as the designs are just 'happy'!

Anyway, back to my new cards...!





This was the first time of using this beautiful stamp that I longed for from the moment I saw it! The papers are from the October Pink Petticoat freebies. The chipboard is from K and Co and the ribbon is from the Making memories ribbon words range. The metal swirl is Hot Off The Press.

If you could please ignore the wonky ribbon (thank you!), the Pink PetticoatOctober Newsletter papers are again used, the cork letters were from Ebay (unknown manufacturer) and the (wonky) ribbon is by Anna Griffin. The rubber stamp (which I love) is by Great Impressions. I think I should have another go at making this card actually as the ribbon looks awful! I also stamped the image in 3 colourways, and then layered the 'tiles' in a 3d effect which is impossible to see properly with my lousy photography and instead looks at wonky as the ribbon!! Anyway, you can get the gist of what I was TRYING to achieve at least!

OK, red face aside, this is my final card of the day (3 cards in 1 day is an incredible workrate for me, I amaze myself sometimes). Happily I was at last able to use my 'de Paris' rubber stamp from Hampton Arts. I also have a 'le shop' rubber stamp too and great plans now for the christening of that image!



The rubber stamp is by Docrafts and a recent bargain in the sale! The ribbon is from the same Making Memories pack as before and again the metal swirl ( do they have a proper name?) is from Hot Off The Press.