Hello again

Thank you for all the lovely feedback for my last post on the photo I took of the orchids at Gift Hutt.  I was so pleased that I finally managed to get what I had been seeing whenever the sun was shining through the window.

I have finally got my new Artfully Sent Cricut cartridge and have had a play with it.  There are so many different ideas in the cartridge that it was hard to know where to start but I had to start somewhere.  So I got some inspiration from the Annual Inspirations Book on page 65 with the lovely die cut card.  It was interesting getting some feedback on the Christmas cards I had made with the Stamp of the Month – Home for the Holidays.  The non-traditional cards got the most likes on Facebook.  Plus, as I am in Wellington, New Zealand,  and heading towards a warm Christmas some friends felt that the polar bear was not quite so appropriate for southern hemisphere countries so I thought I would do something more appropriate for the warmer climates.

The poinsettia is indigenous to Mexico and South America because of it’s green and red foliage is very popular in Christmas floral displays.  It has been a very popular emblem on Christmas cards in New Zealand for many years.

I looked through all the CTMH cartridges and found just the right image on the Artiste cartridge to use to make up the flowers and the leaves.  I need to charge my tablet to upload my step by step photos and I will add a tutorial on how I made these once I have done that so please bear with me.

I have used the sleeve (shift) image on page 46 at 5.5″ to cut out the card using Ruby cardstock.  Because the flower was quite heavy I have lined both sides inside with White Daisy cardstock to create some more stability.  I have added some trim using some topiary washi tape on a small strip of White Daisy cardstock and then matted it with some Ruby cardstock.  I am loving the sentiment stamp set that comes with the Artfully Sent cartridge and this stamp has some lovely fonts and sayings for all occasions.

I first practiced making the card with some Buttercup cardstock (NLA) and when I put the flower on it it actually went well as it toned with the yellow in the leaves so I decided to make a birthday card with it.  Here it is:

This is such a bright and cheerful card and would make a wonderful gift for someone.

Materials used:

Cardstock – White Daisy, Ruby, Buttercup (NLA) but Canary is a good substitution, New England Ivy

Stamps – Artfully Sent Just to Say, Just a Number, Noel

Inks – New England Ivy, Canary, Ruby, Black

Cricut Cartridges – Artfully Sent, Artiste

Embossing folder – Dots

Bling Gems Gold

Topiary washi tape

Both cards will be available for sale at Gift Hutt as most of my cards are.

Have a great week and happy crafting.

Patricia