Gift cover

Greetings - it is so great of you to visit!

I wanted to give a friend a wee gift recently and bought a bag of chocolates - not the easiest to wrap, so I thought I would use card and 'cover' it rather than wrapping it, and this is the result!

I started by cutting a sheet of card into two long strips, trimmed them to length and stenciled them with the Layers of Color Botanical Swirls stencil.

The flowers from the Natures Walk set by the same firm were stamped on scraps of card, embossed and then coloured with chalks.

The tag was stamped and embossed, then cut with a Spellbinders Ribbon Tag

I cut and embossed it, and lightly sponged the tag while still in the die.  I then rounded the corners of one end - the sentiment is from
 Kiwi Stamping 

The ribbon was threaded through a slot I cut to match the slot on the packet,

and the greeting tied to the ribbon with silver cord.

This final look was very effective, and the recipient was most appreciative of both the cover and the chocolates.

Thanks for calling by - I appreciate your visits and your comments make my day.

I am linking this to 

A Crafty Little Place Challenge #66 - Anything goes

Scrap creations - Anything Goes
Some Odd Girl - Make it Girlie
Alphabet Challenge - Letter F for Foliage
Maimi Doodles - Challenge #15 - gift item

May your day be blessed.

Natural Flourish

Thank you for visiting - it has been a week since I wrote anything here, but I have been busy making cards!!  
Can't do everything at once.... well that is my excuse - I can multi-task, but with the computer in one room and my craft area well away, it is a little difficult :-)

I chose to feature this card this week as Stamping Sisters In Christ have a challenge to use red and/or blue in a card this week.  

The challenge is is based on  

2 Chronicles 7:14 "If my people who are called by My name will humble themselves and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land." 

This is a scripture that applies to all nations, as we all fall well short of what is godly, both as individuals, and those who lead us, and we as Christians need to pray for our nations, no matter where we live.

I had made this card using blue inks and the Layers of Color stencil, Natural Flourish - I have been experimenting with these stencils and love what you can do with them - before I saw the challenge, as I wanted to send a card to a family who have just welcomed a son. 

The crib stamp is one from my daughters stash, but it is unmarked.  The full stamp has a star suspended over the crib, but I masked that part of the stamp for this card.  The crib was coloured with chalks and blender pen.

The edges of the main panel were distressed and sponged and the corners pierced before it was mounted on a pale blue base.  A simple card, but quite effective, I felt.

I then went on to make this card, using the same stencil but different inks.

The anniversary it is for is a Ruby one, hence the touch of red on the butterfly (from Layers of Colors, Flutterescent set) and the pearls - one for each decade.

I stitched the main panel, as well as distressing and sponging the edges, then mounted it on a dark green base.  Not quite as quick and easy as the description may imply, but I enjoyed my time and was pleased with the outcomes.

Thank you for calling by again, and I trust your day is as lovely as our day is today, here in the middle of an antipodean winter.