Cure For The Monday Blues Challenge # 21 - Placing Pizzazz

I have been feeling in a floral mood today - probably because we have some gorgeous blooms out in our back garden at the moment. I'm not sure exactly what these purple flowers are, but they have very dark centres and pretty frilly leaves and are looking particularly lovely this year.

 

 

 

 

We built an arbour last year and planted some honeysuckle at the back, which we took as a cutting from my Dad's original plant. We bought a pair of red climbing roses to train up the trellis each side - we chose these as my Dad used to love roses and David's Mum used to love red flowers, so we thought it would be a nice way of remembering them both. This year they are doing really well and have produced some stunning velvety red blooms, so I couldn't resist taking some photos to share.

 

 

 

This week Taheerah has chosen an inspiration photo which also has bright flowers, http://littlemisst-papercraft.blogspot.com/2014/06/cure-for-monday-blues-challenge-21.html , so I decided to focus on those and design a more Clean and Simple card. Those of you who know me will realise that I don't usually do CAS - I am always too tempted to keep adding layers and embellishments - so I think I've been much more restrained for once - Lol!

 

Source: Pinterest

 

 

I decided to concentrate on the three blooms in the inspiration photo above, so I selected the pretty peony stamp from JustRite's "Seeds of Summer" clear stamp set (CR - 03755) and started by stamping it onto some Friskett masking paper and cutting it out carefully to make a mask. Working directly onto a white DL card blank I then stamped a vertical row of three of the peonies using Watering Can Archival Ink and my mask. I used Tim Holtz Distress Markers in bundled sage, festive berries, mustard seed and spun sugar to scribble some ink onto an acrylic block, then I picked this up with a fine detail tipped waterbrush to watercolour the flowers. As I hadn't used watercolour paper the card warped a little, so when it was dry I found my iron and actually ironed it smooth again!

 

 

Please click on the photo for a better view.

 

 

The Thank You sentiment is from Clearly Besotted's "Many Thanks" clear stamp set and was stamped with Tuxedo Black Memento Dye ink. I used foam tape to adhere the sentiment to a banner which I made by stamping the polka dot background from the "Gingham & Co" clear stamp set by Waltzingmouse Stamps with Rose Bud Memento Dye ink and trimming into a banner shape. At this point I had to sit on my hands to stop myself from adding anything else!

 

So I have probably shocked you three times today - with a CAS design, doing some ironing, and (very unusually for me) completing and blogging a card several hours before the actual challenge deadline! I think I'd better go and lie down in a darkened room!

Cure For The Monday Blues # 11

This week's cure for the Monday Blues inspiration photo took me way out of my comfort zone.  http://littlemisst-papercraft.blogspot.com/2014/03/cure-for-monday-blues-challenge-11-and.html . In fact I had more or less decided not to enter this week until I received an email from Taheera and she reminded me about it - so I felt obliged to have a go! I thought that I would really struggle to come up with something, but in the end I had so many ideas that I actually made two cards today! 

 

 Source: Pinterest

 

 

My first card is a more feminine version, where I decided to concentrate on the right hand side of the inspiration photo . I started with a white 5" x 7" card blank and layered on some dotty pink designer paper from my stash and a smaller rectangle of Papertrey ink Spring Rain card. I used Memento Rich Cocoa ink and Papertrey Hibiscus Burst ink to stamp the Waltzingmouse Woodenheart Alphabet onto white card, substituting a small heart for the letter O. The panel was then layered onto a rectangle of Papertrey ink Dark Chocolate card and adhered to the card with double sided tape. I used the Hibiscus Burst ink again to stamp JustRite's "Autumn Damask Background stamp" (CL - 03895) onto white card and cut out a pennant shape. The Sweet Heart sentiment (from Waltzingmouse Stamps "Half Baked Gingerbread Joy" stamp set - as was the small heart) was stamped in Versamark and heat embossed with Wow Bark regular embossing powder and I added a small heart shaped pearl. The floral heart stamp was by Elusive Images (now Chocolate Baroque) and I used Versamark ink and Wow Opaque Bright White Super Fine embossing powder on some PTI Hibiscus Burst card, then cut it out and mounted it onto the card with foam pads.  I was very happy with the result.

 

 

 

For my second card I started with a black 5" x 7" card blank and layered on a piece of  yellow Core'dinations card from the Tim Holtz and Ranger Adirondack collection, then a layer of Papertrey ink Raspberry Fizz card, which I embossed with a Cuttlebug Swiss dots embossing folder. I used Memento Tuxedo Black dye ink to stamp the Elusive Images damask background (from plate UA4SP0156) onto white card, trimmed it and added the panel to my card with double sided tape. I used Versamark ink and the Wow white embossing powder again to stamp the "Smile" sentiment from Waltzingmouse Stamps' "Compact Sentiments" set onto turquoise card and one of the pretty bird images from Elusive Images' "Birds of a Feather" set (from plate UA4SP0218) onto another piece of the Raspberry Fizz card. I cut two of the smaller Spellbinders Labels One dies out of yellow and black card, layered them up and stamped the larger of the cameo ladies from Waltzingmouse Stamps' "Cameo Creations" using Raspberry Fizz ink. The panel with the bird was raised up on foam pads and the final touch was a row of three black gems in the bottom right corner.

 

 

This was the card that caused me the most problems as the colours were not what I'd usually go for at all - but I think that sometimes it's good to challenge yourself a bit more - it is called a "challenge" after all!  Thanks for looking!

Cupcake Inspirations Challenge 254

 

Earlier this week I discovered the delicious looking Cupcake Inspirations challenge blog here http://cupcakeinspirations.blogspot.co.uk/2014/03/challenge-254.html . Their sponsors this week are Core'dinations and I am a great fan of their colourful card so I decided to join in with this week's colour themed challenge. I have made two cards, both using 5" x 7" white card blanks and Core'dinations card.

 

 

 

For my first card I cut a panel of "Aruba" Core Color card and embossed it using a Darice Circle Background embossing folder and my cuttlebug machine. I used some lemon yellow card to die cut a panel for the sentiment using one of the Spellbinders Card Creator A2 Polka Dots dies (S5 - 133). The sentiment is from the JustRite "Seeds of Summer" clear stamp set (CR - 03755) and was stamped using one of Wendy Vecchi's new Archival ink colours, Forget-Me-Not, which is a lovely shade of turquoise blue. I then cut a white card panel with a Spellbinders Labels One die (S4 - 161)  and used Memento Tuxedo Black ink to stamp the pretty petunias image from the same "Seeds of Summer" JustRite stamp set. I coloured the petunias with Copic Ciao markers - Aqua Blue (BG01), Yellow (Y06) and Yellow Green (YG03). I used double sided tape to add the yellow panel to the card and foam pads to adhere the white flowery panel over the top. A row of three yellow pearls was the finishing touch.

For my second card I took two strips of Core'dinations in Aruba blue and a lemon yellow colour (which was from the Tim Holtz and Ranger Adirondack collection), and embossed them both with a Darice "Scroll with bird" long embossing folder in my Cuttlebug machine. These were adhered to the white card base with double sided tape, so that they joined in the centre to form one background panel. I cut two white card panels from the Spellbinders Deckled Rectangles large dies (S4 - 202) and used Memento Rich Cocoa ink to stamp "A Little Hug" by Leanne Ellis for Sugar Nellie and the "Thanks for being there"sentiment from the "Rescue Remedies Additions" stamp set by Waltzingmouse stamps. I coloured the image with Copic Ciao markers - Aqua Blue (BG01), Yellow (Y06), Chamois (E35), Skin White (E00) and Burnt Umber (E29). The two white panels were mounted onto the card using foam pads and the smaller one was embellished with a row of three tiny aqua coloured pearls.

 

 

I'd like to say a big Thank You to my good friend Lana, who gave me the Sugar Nellie stamp as part of my Christmas present last year!

Sunday Stamper - week 300 - Dream Lover

This week is rather a special one over at the very talented Hels Sheridan's blog http://pinkleart.blogspot.co.uk/2014/03/sunday-stamper-week-300-dream-lover.html  - it is the 300th week for the Sunday Stamper challenge! For each of the last 300 weeks Hels has come up with a theme, loosely based on a song title, and has created a gorgeous example of her stamped art to inspire us all to join in. As it's the 300th anniversary of the Sunday Stamper challenge, this week there are several companies sponsoring it and a very generous prize up for grabs for one lucky entrant.

All week I have been deliberating as to what to use to make my entry for the "Dream Lover" theme. I knew straight away that I wanted to use the Catslife Press quote stamp that I acquired recently (thanks Kaz)! But it wasn't until I was able to get into my craftroom yesterday afternoon that I was able to find the perfect image to go with it. This romantic couple from Paper Artsy's Urban Snapshots range - Young Love 4 - fitted the bill perfectly!

Apologies for the poor quality photograph - as per usual I was stamping and taking photos at night! The flash has made the copper areas look more orangey, but in real life they are a bright metallic copper. You can click onto any of the photos for a clearer view if desired.

I gathered together some more supplies - a white card blank, some shiny copper mirror card, thick white card which had been previously sprayed with various pink / purple / copper ink sprays (from Sticky Fingers), some pearlescent pink card, double sided tape, foam pads, some pink gems and everything shown in the photo below. Hels is a great fan of all of Wendy Vecchi's products so I thought it would be appropriate to use the "Art Colours Life" stamp set (which happens to be the only one of Wendy Vecchi's that I own), together with the Large Heart from her Stencils for Art collection.  



I started by trimming a layer of copper mirror card slightly smaller than the front of my card blank, then I cut a smaller panel from the colourful ink sprayed card. I used the central heart shape from the stencil as a mask and inked up the large flower panel stamp below with Victorian Velvet Distress ink before stamping it all over the background to give it a subtle texture. When I removed the mask there was a feint outline of where the heart was, but it needed more definition, so I laid the outer stencil over the flower stamped portion of the card and christened my new Ranger mini ink blending tool with the Victorian Velvet Distress ink to add more depth of colour to the heart. I really like the new little circular ink blending tool as it's ideal to use with stencils and it's easy to control the ink without getting any harsh lines.

I stamped the lovers' image onto white card with Jet Black Archival ink and cut around it leaving a narrow white border. I used the mini ink blending tool and the Victorian Velvet Distress ink again to gently add a little shading to the couple, but I made sure to leave the man's shirt white - if he was anything like my husband he wouldn't be seen dead wearing pink!

This photo and the one below were both taken without flash, but have come out a bit dark. In reality the pink is more of a bright rose pink and what looks like gold is actually a warm copper colour.

The brilliant Catslife Press quote was stamped onto white card using the jet black Archival ink and the corners were rounded with a corner chomper. I then layered this onto a slightly larger rectangle of pearlescent pink card, also with rounded corners, and stuck it to the card with foam pads.

I used a pretty Magnolia Doohickey heart lace border die to trim either side of a strip of pearlescent pink card and added a narrower strip of card, which had been sprayed with slightly darker shades of pink and purple with copper. I used JustRite alphabet stamps (Times New Roman font - 50 pt) to make up the words "Dream Lover" which I then stamped onto the strip of card using the jet black Archival ink again. I trimmed the right-hand side to a fishtail shape and mounted it on the card with foam pads, to help ground the image of the pair of lovers (which I had stuck inside the heart using double sided tape). The final touch was the addition of three sparkly pink gemstones .

I was really happy with the finished card and am now considering making something similar in a cream and duck - egg blue colourway that I can use as a hanging in our bedroom. Watch this space!

Cure for the Monday Blues #9

Over on Taheerha Atchia's blog  there is a Monday challenge running - you can check it out here  http://littlemisst-papercraft.blogspot.com/2014/03/cure-for-monday-blues-challenge-9.html  .

Challenge #9 is based on the following photograph -

 

 

Source: Pinterest http://www.pinterest.com/pin/75435362482935938/

 

 

I decided to start with a 5" x 7" landscape card blank and added a layer of PTI Pure Poppy card. Then I took a slightly smaller panel of the off-white card (I cut up another card blank to make sure it matched) and added a strip of brown stripey paper (the reverse side of Fields of Flowers from Graphic 45's Botanical Tea collection) to the lower half, to mimic the stripey cushions on the bed. I used my small imperial Score Pal board to score along the top half of the card at half inch intervals - I thought that this looked a little like the wood panelling in the above photo.  Next I added a strip of blue card (PTI's Spring rain card), a narrower strip of the off - white card and a length of red cord, echoing the piped bedding in the inspiration photo. 

Please click on the photo to enlarge it for a better view.

For the main image I used the largest die from the JustRite Custom Die Templates JB - 10025 Nested Oval Medallion Label Dies, which I cut from some of the blue card. The map border image and sailing ship from the Anchors Away stamp set by JustRite (CR - 03710) were then stamped using Rich Cocoa Memento dye ink. I coloured the narrow band around the edge with a Festive Berries Distress Marker to match the piping again and the rope circle was coloured with a Picket Fence Distress Marker (matching the white lifesaving ring in the inspiration photo). The centre panel was then mounted onto the card with foam pads for added dimension. I stamped the small circular anchor motif from the same stamp set onto a scrap of Pure Poppy red card using Memento Espresso Truffle dye ink, cut it out and added it to the card with a foam dot - I was thinking about the red circular item on the bedside table in the inspiration photo at the time. The sentiment is from the Waltzingmouse Stamps Compact Sentiment set and was stamped onto some of the red card with the same Espresso Truffle Memento ink. I trimmed the red card to mimic the shape of the red rug in the bottom left of the inspiration photo, stuck it onto the card and it was finished!

I am really pleased with the finished card as I think it's a reasonable interpretation of the photo provided and looks suitably nautical. I shall be sending this to a former colleague who will be starting a new job soon - I hope he likes it!

JustRite Poppies card

Earlier in the week I needed to make a quick birthday card to post to my Great Aunt Doris, who was 91 yesterday.  She loves her garden, so I thought that the beautiful large Poppies stamp from JustRite's Poppies Labels Twenty Nine set (CL - 04380) would be just the job.

 

 

The image is very detailed so I decided to go with a CAS style, with nothing to detract from the beauty of the flowers. The poppies were stamped using Memento Tuxedo Black ink and coloured with Ranger Distress Markers. I used wild honey for the stamens, festive berries and barn door for the bright petals and shabby shutters and peeled paint for the leaves and stems. Finally I stamped the Happy Birthday sentiment (also by JustRite) in the bottom right corner and the card was ready to be posted to Dorset.

I shall certainly be using this lovely stamp again as it was such a pleasure to colour the image and it was easy to achieve a good result fairly quickly. I also think that it's very versatile and could be used for many different occasions.

Paris in the Spring - Artful Times Challenge 50 - Anything Goes

This winter has felt particularly long and wet and I am finding myself longing for the start of Spring now! I decided to make a card using spring colours and stamps from JustRite (available from Oyster Stamps).

I started with some pale lemon yellow card and stamped the large Paris Background stamp (CL - 03790) with Ranger Jet Black Archival ink. I stamped the portion with the Eiffel tower a second time onto the lemon card, so that I could cut it out and layer it up for more dimension. I also stamped the crown and fleur-de-lis onto smooth white card (for the same reason). I stamped the small label shape from the Bon Voyage stamp set (CL - 02185) onto some pale green card (again with black Archival ink) and cut it out using one of the Spellbinders Labels six dies (S4 - 230).

Using a Ranger ink blending tool with Tumbled Glass and Shabby Shutters Distress ink pads I blended some colour around the edges of the main image and the second Eiffel tower, which I then fussy cut and mounted on the main panel with foam pads. I used the same colours on the small label and then cut a hole in the top to turn it into a tag. The word "Paris" from the Greetings from Paris stamp set (CL - 02195) was stamped in black Archival ink and I used an extra fine black Faber Castel Pitt artist pen to add the words "in the Spring". The frame part of the tag, both the crowns, both fleur-de-lis, the laurel wreath and ribbon bow were all coloured in with Tim Holtz Distress Markers - I used Tumbled Glass, Shabby Shutters, Mustard Seed, Spun Sugar and Shaded Lilac.

I layered the main panel onto pale green card and then onto a white scalloped card blank (it looks a bit pink in the photo, but I think that was because the light was poor as I took the photo at night). I fussy cut around the extra crown and fleur-de-lis images and added them to the card with foam pads. Finally I cut three pieces of seam binding in lemon, pink and lilac colours and stapled them to the top of the tag, which I then mounted onto the card (again with foam pads).

I think that the finished card does have an air of spring about it. I have never been to Paris, but would love to go one day - I can dream! I have sent this card to a dear friend for her birthday. She seems to travel quite a lot, so I hope that she likes it!

I would like to enter this into the Artful Times Challenge #50 - Anything Goes. You can find out more about it here http://artfultimes.blogspot.co.uk/2014/02/challenge-50-anything-goes.html . It's the first time that I have entered this challenge, so I hope I've done it correctly!

JustRite Challenge #108 and #109

I have two cards to show you today - both were originally made for JustRite Friday Challenges, but I misjudged the time difference between the UK and the USA and missed the deadline - twice!

Challenge #108 was a sketch and I needed to make a birthday card for a friend who likes gardening, so I went with a leafy / floral theme.




I started with a mint green 6" x 6" square card blank and added a slightly smaller square of teal coloured card. Then I stamped the Leafy Background Stamp (SW - 04555) twice onto pale green card using Memento Teal Zeal dye ink and trimmed the stamped images to make four equal sized squares to fit my card front with a small gap between them. These were then stuck on with double sided tape. I chose the largest size die from the JustRite Custom Dies JB - 03990 Vintage Labels Two set to cut the label shape out of pale green card. This was then stamped with the matching large stamp from the JustRite Clear Winged Vintage Labels Two and Three (CR - 04465) stamp set, using the same Memento Teal Zeal ink. I cut a small oval from teal card using a Spellbinders die, stamped the sentiment from the same set using Versamark ink, covered it with white embossing powder and heat set it. The large label shape was layered onto the card using foam pads to add some dimension. The card was then embellished with four teal coloured rhinestones and some aqua and white mulberry paper flowers, together with a couple of leaf sprays which were cut from patterned paper using a Spellbinders die. Finally the small oval label with the sentiment was layered on top, again using foam pads for dimension, but also to cover the stems of the two flower sprays.

My second card was for challenge #109 WOW - white on white. I needed a sympathy card for a friend who had recently lost her father and immediately thought of white lilies. I wanted a classic looking card with a lot of different textures, although these are difficult to see on the photo below.

I started with a white 8" x 8" card blank and used the scalloped die from Spellbinders Edgeabilities E8 - 007 Classic Edges One to cut the right hand edge of the card. I trimmed a little off the top and bottom of the card so that the scallops were of even sizes. Then I added a panel of iridescent white quilt effect paper to cover the front of the card. I found a sheet of gorgeous satin effect card stock that I had been saving in my stash and dusted it with an anti - static bag before stamping the long lace panel from JustRite Lace Medallion Labels CR - 03905 and the large Lace Background Stamp CL - 03920 using Versamark ink. I covered the Versamark ink with WOW opaque white embossing powder and gently heat set it from underneath to prevent any scorch marks from overheating. I used the zig zag die from Spellbinders Edgeabilities E8 - 007 Classic Edges One to cut the left hand edge of the long lace border panel and the scalloped die, together with a Spellbinders heart patterned insert die to cut the right hand side. The long lace border was then adhered to the card with double sided tape and the excess was trimmed from the top and bottom so that it was flush with the card base. The lace background panel was cut out by hand, leaving a narrow border all round and then stuck to the card base with double sided tape.

I die cut a label from pearlescent white card with one of the dies from JustRite Custom Dies JB - 03990 Vintage Labels Two and then stamped the matching lily spray stamp from Floral Vintage Labels Two CL - 04455 using Versamark ink. This time I chose WOW vanilla white embossing powder and heat set again from underneath. I curved the label slightly and used foam pads (single layers down each side and double in the middle) to make the panel more prominent. I used a Spellbinders fancy tag die to cut the smaller label from a piece of satin effect card and stamped the "with sympathy" sentiment from JustRite Large Fancy Sentiments CR - 03815, using Versamark ink and WOW vanilla white embossing powder as before. The small label was then mounted on the bottom of the card using foam pads. The finishing touch was a length of white organza ribbon tied into a multi - looped bow and attached to the folded edge of the card.

 

 

I was a little outside my comfort zone making a White on White card as I love to use lots of colour, but I was pleased with how it turned out. The lace stamps are really delicate in spite of their size and the lily flower spray was just the job - although I think if I was to make a similar card again I would like to colour the flowers in very pale pastel shades to make them stand out a bit more from the background.

 

The main thing I have learnt is to check international time zones more carefully and to leave a bit more time to upload my blog posts so as not to miss the deadlines again!!!

Missing You ...

My sweet daughter is away at University this year, studying Creative Arts for Theatre and Film. She has an aptitude for anything artistic and is really enjoying her course but, although she has made lots of new friends there, she confessed to feeling a little homesick the other week.

To cheer her up I sent her a parcel containing lots of nice fabrics for her Costume Designs and some of her favourite biscuits and chocolate. I also enclosed a hand made card, to let her know that we are missing her too. Now that she has received everything I can show you the card that I made for her.

I started with an A5 card blank and added a layer of "Springtime" patterned paper from Graphic 45's Secret Garden collection. I thought that a sewing theme would be appropriate so I opted to use the Grandma's Attic background stamp from JustRite Stampers http://justritepapercraft.com/search?type=product&q=grandma%27s+attic which I stamped onto cream card using Memento Rich Cocoa ink. I used coloured pencils to add colour to the dressmaker's dummy, cotton reel labels and buttons then I distressed the edges and used a foam blending tool to add a little Antique Linen distress ink around the edges.  The stamping and colouring was repeated twice, before fussy cutting out all the coloured elements and layering them up on foam pads to give a more dimensional look. You can see what a difference the extra layers made in the photo below.

A strip of brown floral washi tape from We R Memory Keepers was added across the bottom of the card, together with some "Wild Saffron" adhesive paper ribbon from K&Company. Then I added a row of "Sugar and Spice"  pink pearls from the Hobby House, alternating between the 3mm and 5mm sizes, to highlight the "lace".  I tied some button twine through a pink button from my stash and added it to the bottom right corner of the stamped image.

I needed to add a sentiment and wanted to balance the layout, so I decided to die cut a label from cream card using one of the smaller dies from the lovely Spellbinders Labels Six set http://www.countryviewcrafts.co.uk/s4-230-spellbinders-nestabilities-labels-six---6-dies-3647-p.asp . Leaving the die in place I sponged Antique Linen distress ink over the label, leaving it paler in the middle. When the die was removed it left a lovely crisp cream border which looked really effective. I used Memento Rich Cocoa ink again to stamp the "Miss You" sentiment and two small flourishes (which reminded me a little of flowers) from the JustRite Stampers Large Fancy Sentiments stamp set http://justritepapercraft.com/products/large-fancy-sentiments-cr-03815 . I added a couple of 3mm pink pearls to the centre of the flourishes, stuck the label to the card using foam pads - and Voila! 

I am really pleased with the finished card and I'm very happy that my daughter loved it too!

London Themed Birthday Card

Earlier this week it was our cousin Roy's birthday and I wanted to make him a special card. As he used to live in London when he was younger I decided to use the London Background Stamp from JustRite Stampers http://justritepapercraft.com/collections/cling-stamps/products/london-background-stamp-cl-03765 .

I used a cream A5 card blank and cut a background layer using Botanica patterned paper from the Tropical Travelogue Collection by Graphic 45 and a Spellbinders die from the Grand Labels Twenty-three set http://www.spellbinderspaperarts.com/products/p-343-grand-labels-twenty-three.aspx .

I stamped the London Background stamp onto cream card using Memento Rich Cocoa ink and matted and layered onto a piece of chocolate bronze coloured card stock. The images of Westminster (where Big Ben is), the heart, and the postage stamp were coloured with Distress Markers (Antique Linen, Pumice Stone, Worn Lipstick and Tumbled Glass). I stamped an extra two images, coloured the clock tower and the postage stamp as before, then fussy cut them out and layered them up on foam pads to give a more dimensional look. Finally I used glossy accents to highlight the clock face.

 

 

I was really pleased with the finished result as I think it's quite hard to get masculine cards just right sometimes. I'm pleased to say that Roy liked it too!

 

Here in the UK we are due to have a severe storm tonight, so I hope that you all stay safe and warm indoors.

It's been a long time in the pipeline ...

I have been intending to start a blog for a while now and never got around to it, but I have dallied for quite long enough and need to do battle with technology to make it happen!

By way of a test, I thought I'd start by showing you a couple of birthday cards that I made for friends last year.

This one was made for a friend who kept chickens. The main stamped image of the knitting hens was a Penny Black stamp and all the other stamps used were from Waltzingmouse Stamps. I used Memento dye inkpads and embellished the card with some red seam binding and a vintage cockerel tie pin that I found on Ebay.

 

My second card was made for a French friend. Again I used Memento dye inkpads (love these). The large rectangular background stamp is by JustRite Stampers and I used coloured pencils to highlight a few of the elements. All other stamps used were from the Waltzingmouse Stamps Paris Nouveau set. You can see the full set here http://www.waltzingmousestamps.com/products/paris-nouveau  . The lovely label stamp fitted perfectly onto a Spellbinders labels 25 die cut - I love stamps that match dies! The Eiffel tower was cut out by hand and raised up on foam pads to give it a bit of dimension. I was really pleased with how this turned out and I think my friend liked it too.

 

 

Thanks for taking the time to read this far! I hope that you liked what you saw and will come back and visit again soon.