Handbag Mark II...

Well, version 1 went down so well I thought I'd have another go

very similar to the first but I used a linen effect paper (not sure if that was wise, it didn't cut cleanly with the robo) and added a bit of bling. I designed the key myself on the robo  (I know some people still like keys on 18th/21st birthday cards so thought this was a very discreet way to use it!)

Inspired by...

...well I hardly think I need say any more - the cute little scottie dog says it all! I bought a pack of the scotties at Harrogate in March with a card for one of my sisters in mind - she's a collector of a certain designer handbag range and my budget doesn't run to the actual thing...

Anyway there I was sat trying to decide what to do for the 50th birthday card I'd been asked to make, with the brief of 'girly' and cast my mind back to the conversation where I'd been told that part of the gift for the birthday girl was a you-know-who bag...

...and voila!

Papers are Pink Petticoat, handbag shape traced from a Craftwork Cards blank then layered with 'panels' cut on the robo. I cut a pocket into the front of the bag to slot the scottie into. The '50' charm was also cut on the robo - I cut 3 layers and stuck them together for strength, and the brad used for the closure was from Dovecraft I think.  Some assorted flowers and thin strips of black vinyl and we're good to go :-)

As has become the habit with my 8 x 8" cards I made a matching box instead of an envelope and I think it turned out pretty well, after completely mis-measuring last night - the 1st attempt wasn't even square lol!

Of course I'm my own worst critic and worried that it wasn't up to scratch but my friend loved it, and I think I'll be making a very similar one for a 21st birthday card she needs too...

Oh yes, and not forgetting my sister's card!

I don't do big cards...

...so could someone please explain how I came to make an A4 size card???

I offered to make a wedding card as one of my colleagues is getting married on Saturday and we've clubbed together for her gift.  It seemed like a good idea at the time, until I realised that I know very little about this person's tastes,  not to mention the rest of my colleagues...

I decided to steer away from the lovely cute Lili of the Valley image I bought at Harrogate and had a picture in my head of an 8 x 8 inch square card with a 3D tiered wedding cake in ivory with red accents as the bride is wearing a red dress with full-length ivory coat.  Took the prototype in to show my colleagues the other day and got the impression they didn't approve of the colour scheme - eek!

Lots of hours later I ended up with this - the only thing it has in common with my original concept is the tiered cake

I finished it after midnight last night, then dragged myself off to bed knowing that I wasn't really happy with it.  So this morning I pulled it to bits!  This is version 2 - very little difference except the cake is now lower on the card and the springy wires connecting the hearts are gold coloured instead of silver.

I'm as happy as I'm going to get with it now so I think its time to make the box - I've got about 4 hours, lol!

For a large card it was incredibly cheap to make - the cardstock is from my bargain buy at Harrogate - pearlised A3 card folded in half to make the base card then decorated with a Rollagraph stamp wheel using Versamark and mica powder ( Harrogate spending spree again!). The cake tiers use Martha Stewart punches (yes, Harrogate!) with a bit of glitter and a few gems. The cake stand uses a couple of Fiskars punches - the curved sides were done using an oval punch. The glittered hearts were also punched from the same cardstock as everything else then run upside down through my mini Xyron before adding glitter.  And last but not least, the sentiment panel was created with my Craft Robo Lite - I love the gel-pen drawing function. Incidentally, the ivory cardstock used for matting and layering, and some of the cake elements is just the same cardstock but coloured with an ivory promarker!

On the subject of weddings I had to chuckle at this post last night by Kerry over at A Load of Old Pickle. Why do we volunteer ourselves for these things, lol?  I made my friend's wedding invitations last year, apparently I'd offered while under the influence of far too much wine (which I blamed on the shock of her finally getting hitched after 10 years together!).  I couldn't help but be struck by the similarities to Kerry's invitations, especially the insides

Can I just point out though - I didn't want the peel-off there  - that was a last minute addition when the bride's father thought a wedding invitation should feature wedding bells (even though it wasn't a church wedding...)