Baby Shaker Card

I have mixed feelings about this card, not totally happy with it. I did have a go at some masking to colour the background of the card and also it was my first try at using Distress Inks. I really need to practice using those inks because the background ended up rather blotchy. The card looks better from afar!

Materials:

Card: Whisper White, Pretty in Pink, White glitter cardstock
Ink: Versamark, Tuxedo Black, Sakura Stardust glitter gel pens - pink, purple, yellow, clear, Distress Inks - Mowed Lawn, Salty Ocean
Stamps: Quinn's Abc's, Quinn's Capital Abc's, Critters Ever After, Claire's Abc's, Plus One, all by Lawn Fawn
Accessories: Sequins, clear iridescent beads and glitter from a discount store
Tools: Circle and Scalloped Circle Stackable Lawn Cuts dies, Big Shot machine, white craft foam, acetate sheet, dimensionals, white embossing powder, embossing buddy, heat tool, corner rounder, post it notes for masking, craft glue

Toy Train

This was made a few weeks ago for the son of a friend. I wanted to make a simple card with bold colours. This is the result:

Materials:

Card: Bermuda Bay, Real Red, Smoky Slate, Xpress white for Copic markers
Ink: Bermuda Bay, Tuxedo Black, Copic markers - R29, Y08, B24 and N1
Stamps: Pa-rum-pa-pum-pum, Year Two, Quinn's 123's, all by Lawn Fawn
Tools: Big shot machine, Stitched Journaling Card Lawn Cuts dies, corner rounder, dimensionals, sponge

Fun Fair Birthday

This card turned out better than I thought it would. I used mostly Lawn Fawn products for this card.

Materials:

Card: Naturals Ivory, Whisper White, Brightside patterned papers from Lawn Fawn
Ink: Tuxedo Black
Stamps: Admit One, Say Cheese, Quinn's Abc's, Sophie's Sentiments, all by Lawn Fawn
Accessories: Basic rhinestones
Tools: Coloured pencils, dimensionals, scissors for fussy cutting

Hot Air Balloon card

This card design was cased from this one which was made by Grisel Blanco from My Chic and Crafty Lil' Heart. I needed to made a kids card in a hurry and this one was easy to do!

Materials:

Card: Tempting Turquoise, Pumpkin Pie, Whisper White, Island Oasis DSP, vellum, Naturals Ivory

Ink: Tuxedo Black, Tempting Turquoise, Pumpkin Pie, Copic Sketch marker E57, Sakura Stardust gel pen in clear

Stamps: Blue Skies, Year One by Lawn Fawn

Tools: Dimensionals, Blue Skies Lawn Cuts dies, Big Shot machine

Mother's Day Shaker card

This mason jar shaker card was inspired by this one from Chari Moss. I had a lot of technique troubles with this card but I got it done in the end.

It was my first attempt at a shaker card and I learnt a lot! If you wanted to try to make a card like this, I recommend that you check out Lawn Fawn's youtube video channel and find the video of Chari's shaker card.

It really is easy to make if you have the right equipment. I just couldn't find my Stazon black ink or clear acetate sheets. I tried to buy them from my local scrapbooking store and they didn't have any in stock. I also went to Spotlight but they were sold out. I ended up buying a Versamark brilliance but, although it dried on the plastic, it easily scratched off when I was attaching the top layer to the card.

Materials:

Card: Concord Crush, Rich Razzleberry, Whisper White, In Colour patterned paper
Ink: Concord Crush, Rich Razzleberry, Melon Mambo, Versamark Brilliance in Black, Copic Sketch N1 marker.
Stamps: Summertime Charm by Lawn Fawn, Teeny Tiny Sentiments by Stampin' Up
Accessories: Striped organza ribbon, sequins, clear plastic treat bag, purple rhinestones, iridescent clear beads, all from discount stores
Tools: Big shot machine, Summertime Charm Lawn Cuts dies by Lawn Fawn, corner rounder punch by Fiskars, white foam from Spotlight, craft glue, dimensionals

Anniversary

I didn't realize just how many cards I hadn't posted last year. Here's last year's anniversary effort for my husband. For some reason I have made food themed cards for him for our anniversary and Valentine's Day for the last three years. I blame the cuteness of Lawn Fawn stamps!

I was really happy with this card because it was my first attempt at Copic colouring and I like how it all came together.

Materials:

Card: Basic Grey, Brushed Gold, Cherry Cobbler, Very Vanilla, Xpress for Copic markers
Ink: Versamark, Tuxedo Black, Cherry Cobbler, Copic markers - N1, E57
Stamps: Good Fortune, Sophie's Sentiments, both by Lawn Fawn. I don't know the name or brand of the background stamp, sorry.
Tools: Antique Gold embossing powder, embossing buddy, heat tool, dimensionals, Good Fortune Lawncuts by Lawn Fawn.

Valentine's Day

I made this card for my husband for Valentine's Day last year. I just love how cute Lawn Fawn's stamps are!

Materials:
Cardstock: Cherry Cobbler, Brushed Gold, Whisper White
Ink: Tuxedo Black, Versamark, markers - Crumb Cake, Soft Suede, Chocolate Chip, Pink Pirouette, Basic Grey, Daffodil Delight, Rose Red, Bashful Blue, Real Red
Stamps: Teeny Tiny Backdrops, Love'n Breakfas
Accessories: Raspberry Ripple stitched satin ribbon
Tools: Glossy Accents

Butterfly Birthday

I had some new goodies that I'd just bought and wanted to try them out on this card. I made this for my sister-in-law. I'm pretty pleased with the way it turned out.

Materials:
Cardstock: Whisper White, Tempting Turquoise, So Saffron, Regal Rose
Ink: Tuxedo Black, Versamark, Regal Rose, markers - Regal Rose, Pink Pirouette, Melon Mambo, So Saffron, Daffodil Delight, More Mustard, Tempting Turquoise, Marina Mist and Bashful Blue
Stamps: Flutter by, Grand Greetings, Teeny tiny backdrops, all by Lawn Fawn
Accessories: Blue and pink rhinestones
Tools: Big shot machine, Adorning Accents edgelit die and embossing folder, dimensionals, Dazzling Diamonds glitter glue

Baby Shower

This card was made for my niece's baby shower. They were keeping the gender of the baby a secret so I wanted to go with bright colours for something a little bit different.

Materials:
Cardstock: Shimmery White, Bashful Blue, patterned papers "Bright Side" by Lawn Fawn
Ink: Tuxedo Black, Versamagic Cloud White, Pumpkin Pie marker
Stamps: Plus One, Sunny Skies, Say Cheese, all by Lawn Fawn
Accessories: Baker's twine from The Twinery, orange and purple rhinestones, pink polka dot washi  tape, vintage glass look button
Tools: Big Shot machine, Say Cheese Lawn cut dies by Lawn Fawn, corner rounder punch, Dazzling Diamonds glitter glue, dimensionals, white gel pen

Personalised Wedding Card

The trickiest thing about this card was doing the alphabet stamping. It's a simple card and I'm happy with the result. Except for the bow. I have to get a bow tying device.

The cardstock was a shimmery white in real life which isn't caught by the camera here.

Materials:
Cardstock: Shimmery White, Blushing Bride
Ink: Tuxedo Black, Blushing Bride
Stamps: Happily Ever After, Sally's abc's, both by Lawn Fawn
Accessories: Striped organza ribbon, Basic rhinestones
Tools: Nestable square dies, dimensionals

Bright Birthday

Hi there, I'm still making cards just have been so busy I've not gotten around to posting them. Let's start with this one that I made back in April.

The layout was cased from another card. I have the picture of it but not the website or designer. I will add it as soon as I can find it.

This is how it was done -

Materials:
Cardstock: Crumb Cake, Brightside 6x6 paper (Lawn Fan)
Ink: Tuxedo Black (Memento)
Stamps: Bake Me a Cake, Sophie's Sentiments (both Lawn Fawn)
Accessories: Basic rhinestones, Lemondrop twine (The Twinery), iridescent glitter.
Tools: Beautiful Wings embosslit, square punch, 2 way glue pen, dimensionals, glue tape

Tips and Tricks:
1. This card is pretty straight forward. I used the 2 way glue pen to adhere the glitter to the cupcakes and butterfly. Here's a pic of the glitter, blurry I know but you get the idea:

Stuff Ups:
1. I'm not happy with the way I stamped some of the cupcakes. The cherry is lopsided and that swirl just doesn't look good.

Pleasant Surprises:
1. The butterfly looked great with the glitter on it and the twine wrapped around it to make the body and antennae.

3rd Anniversary

Happy 3rd anniversary to my gorgeous hubby! This is the card I made for him. It's very cutesy but he likes it anyway. The muffins were inspired by this card by Chari Moss.

Here's how I made it:

Materials:
Cardstock: Confetti White, Crumb Cake, old blue that was lying around.
Ink: Tuxedo Black (Memento), Crumb Cake, markers - Crumb Cake, Bashful Blue, Pink Pirouette, Pretty in Pink, Real Red, Basic Black.
Stamps: Love n Breakfast, Sopie's Sentiments (both Lawn Fawn).
Accessories: Hemp twine, Bevelled Window Panes, blue organza ribbon (Kaiser Craft), Basic Rhinestones.
Tools: Big Shot machine, polka dot embossing folder, sponge, mini glue dots, dimensionsals.

Tips and Tricks:
1. It's pretty straight forward - the embossed white layer was sponged with Crumb Cake ink around the edges.
2. I adhered the bevelled window pane with mini glue dots because I couldn't think of a better way to keep it in place. If you know a better way, please let me know in the comments. Thanks!
3. Those spots either side of the sentiment are rhinestones.

Stuff Ups:
1. The muffins are a little big to fit under the window pane properly.
2. The confetti cardstock is gorgeous - full of little bits so it looks recycled. Unfortunately one of those bits looks like a red splotch above the sentiment, oh well.
3. The glue dots show through the window pane.
4. Probably should have positioned the centre panel lower and cut the ribbon shorter.

Pleasant Surprises:
1. I like the blue cardstock. It was a bit flimsy but the colour is pretty.
2. The muffins are cute and my colouring in was not atrocious.

A little boy's birthday

It's been a while since I posted a 'Kate Original' card. (Obviously meaning I didn't copy or case it from anyone, it's my own creation, just a product of my crazy thoughts.) Here's one for you today! I made this card for a friend's son who turned 3 today.

Here's how it's made:

Materials:
Cardstock: Real Red, Tempting Turquoise, Whisper White.
Ink: Tempting Turquoise, Versamark, Tuxedo Black (Memento). Markers: Wild Wasabi, Soft Suede, Pumpkin Pie, So Saffron, Real Red, Tempting Turquoise, Bashful Blue, Pink Pirouette, Basic Black.
Stamps: Monster Fun (Hero Arts. I borrowed this from a friend at our card making day - thanks Shauna!), Put on Your Party Hat (Fiskars), Admit One (Lawn Fawn).
Accessories: Maraschino and Cappucino baker's twine (The Twinery), Miss Nelly jewels (Kaisercraft).
Tools: Big shot machine, Top Note die, sponge, dimensionals, 2 way glue pen, glue tape, mini glue dots, sanding block.

Tips and Tricks:
1. The blue layer was stamped randonly with a Lawn Fawn star in Versamark. I sponged around the edges with Tempting Turquoise ink.
2. I trimmed up the white top note die cut to reveal the red one beneath. Then I sanded the edges of the white (I would have used my distressing tool had I brought it with me) and sponged around it with Tempting Turquoise ink.
3. The monsters and balloons were coloured in with Stampin' Up markers. After cutting out all the monsters and balloons, I used a black marker to colour the cut edges.
4. The balloons were adhered to each other one at a time so I got the right positioning on the card. Then I attached the twine to each balloon using glue tape. After that I attached the balloons to the card with dimensionals.
5. I tied up the balloon strings and stuck them in position with a mini glue dot.
6. The mini monster is on dimensionals too to make him stand out and look like he's holding the bunch of balloons.

Stuff Ups:
1. This is just a technicality but I don't like the streakiness of the markers. There's nothing I can do about that apart from buy Copics instead.
2. The cutting out the top note die cut could have been better (as always).

Pleasant Surprises:
1. The way the red and blue contrast. I like it.
2. The stamp set is so cute. I would have been lost without it!
3. Finally, a concept I had in my head was realised in the way I wanted it to be!!

New Stampin' Up colours

When I saw this card design I loved it for two reasons - 1. The colours it uses are the new In Colors for Stampin' Up, some of which I haven't used yet. 2. It features a stamp set that I have and hadn't used yet either.

So this card design is not mine, I found it while searching for some inspiration. It's made by Nancy Riley, click on her name to check out the card that she made. Here's my version of her card:

This is for my sister-in-law.

Materials:
Cardstock: Wisteria Wonder, Pool Party, Lucky Limeade, Whisper White.
Ink: Wisteria Wonder, Calypso Coral.
Stamps: Array of Sunshine (Stampin' Up) and Sophie's Sentiments (Lawn Fawn).
Accessories: (This used to be called 'other')  Basic pearls, ribbon (American Craft),
Tools: (This is a new section) Beautiful Wings embosslits, Circle punch, bird punch, scallop edge punch (Fiskars), Lattice embossing folder, 2 way glue pen, dimensionals, mini glue dots, scissors, double sided tape, big shot machine, Scoring board (Martha Stewart).

Tips and Tricks:
1. The branches and leaves were punched with the bird punch. I ran them through the big shot machine in the lattice embossing folder. I used a 2 way glue pen to adhere them to the card.
2. The coral flower was stamped 3 times and cut out. On two of the flowers, I've just cut out the inner sections and layered them with dimensionals.
3. The circles are glued on with a 2 way glue pen as I don't want the edges to lift up. A tape runner wouldn't get close enough the the circle's edge.
4. The butterflies are stuck on with mini glue dots.

Stuff Ups:
1. Originally I used a Vintage Wallpaper embossed piece of Wisteria Wonder instead of the circles but it was too busy for the look that I wanted.
2. When I finished the card, I had a sip from my can of Coke Zero and a drop of condensation landed on my card - oh no!! I got out my heat tool to dry it and it only let the faintest of watermarks. Silly me.
3. Looking at the card now, maybe I should have stuck the lowest branch over the ribbon instead of under it?

Pleasant Surprises:
1. I'm pleased with the overall look of the circles. I like that textured effect.
2. The ribbon matches the Pool Party butterflies nicely.
3. For once my cutting out was not too shabby!

Happy New Year

Welcome to 2012 everyone!
This card is for my Mother-in-law who is in hospital again and we will be visiting her tomorrow. It's quite similar to my last card but I tried a few different techniques on this one.

I did consider colouring the flowers in different shades and tints of purple but since this is a 'get well' card, I wanted it to look more colourful than monochromatic.

Materials:
Cardstock: Shimmery White, Concord Crush, Whisper White, Watercolour paper, In-colour 2010-2011 DSP: Concord Crush.
Ink: Wisteria Wonder, Memento's Tuxedo Black, markers - So Saffron, Melon Mambo, Regal Rose, Pretty in Pink and Old Olive, Versamark.
Stamps: On The Mend by Lawn Fawn.
Other:  Basic Rhinestones, clear glitter embossing powder, dimensionals, sponge, Pink Sorbet baker's twine by The Twinery.

Tips and Tricks:
1. Bandaid background - I clear embossed the bandaids. If I had distress inks, I would have used them for the background colour but I don't so I used a sponge and ink pad. I also used the same technique on the flower panel.
2. The vase is paper pieced.
3. I used the Pretty in Pink marker to add rosy cheeks to the flowers.

Stuff Ups:
1. The bandaid stamping is pretty terrible - unevenly spaced, overlapping in parts.
2. The embossing is terrible too - I missed bits and smudged the Versamark when I was sponging. Fortunately most of those bits are covered by the flower panel.
3. I seriously need a lamp because the lighting in my craft room sucks!!
4. On my first attempt at making the flower panel I tried watercolouring the flowers but I guess I didn't let the Tuxedo Black ink dry long enough as it started to run when the aquapainter hit it.

Birthday time

I made this card this morning, it was a quick card to make and features washi tape which is something new that I bought and was looking forward to using.

As you can see, this card is customised for my brother-in-law. I have a new alphabet stamp set by Lawn Fawn that allows me to do this!

Materials:
Cardstock: Island Indigo, Basic Black, Brushed Silver, Whisper White.
 Ink: Tuxedo Black by Memento.
Stamps: Motorcycle by Stampin' Up, Jessie's ABC's by Lawn Fawn.
Other: Black and white checkered washi tape, sponge, dimensionals.

Tips and Tricks:
1. I put a little bit of glue tape down on the base card and stuck the silver panel to that. Then I put the washi tape around the edge to stick down the silver panel.
2. I sponged around the Whisper White layer to give it some interest.

Stuff Ups:
1. I should have cut the washi tape to make it thinner - it's just too overpowering.
2. Cutting the washi tape would also have allowed me to centre the motorcycle panel on the silver rather than have it sticking out over the top of the washi tape.
3. I really wanted to use my diamond plate embossing folder on the silver but it would have been too much.
4. The uneven edges on the washi tape was deliberate!

Pleasant Surprises:
I'm amazed that the letters of the sentiment all lined up - each letter is an individual stamp. Lawn Fawn stamps are brilliant at making stamping easy!

Christmas, oh how I love you!

What a month I've had! I did get my preparation done in time for my interview and it certainly paid off as I got the job! I'll be teaching at a brand new school next year that is still being built! It's so exciting! Yay!

I also finished all my Christmas cards yesterday, thank goodness. It's taken me 3 months on and off to get them done. I tried paper piecing and I'm pleased with the results. The colours pop more in real life, I just couldn't get a decent snap of the card today, sigh.

I made 50 plus some spares. I used different patterned paper (as I've posted in a previous entry) so each card is different from the next one.

Materials:
Cardstock: Crumb Cake, Old Olive, Cherry Cobbler, Very Vanilla, patterned paper is called December 25th by Kaisercraft.
Ink: Old Olive, Cherry Cobbler, Crumb Cake, Daffodil Delight, Memento ink in Tuxedo Black, Basic Black marker.
Stamps: Ornate Ornaments by Lawn Fawn.
Other: Basic Rhinestones, sponge.

Tips and Tricks:
1. Since I was making so many cards I did it all in stages like an assembly line:

1. Made a prototype.
2. Paper pieced the ornaments.
3. Cut the base cards and card layers.
4. Sponged the edges of the Very Vanilla with Crumb Cake ink.
5. Stamped images on the Very Vanilla.
6. Attached paper pieced ornaments.
7. Stamped sentiments on base cards.
8. Wrote messages in all the cards.
9. Attached layers to card fronts and added rhinestones.
10. Addressed envelopes and now they are ready to post!

2. Paper piecing took a long time! I stamped the baubles on patterned paper and cut them out. I stamped the baubles again on patterned paper and cut out the bands and topper pieces. Then I ran the edge of a Basic Black marker around the edge of each paper piece to hide the cut edge.
3.  I use my scissors to help me attach the sticky back rhinestones accurately. I find it easier than using tweezers.

Stuff Ups:
1. Lots. When making so many cards, mistakes are easy to make. The most mistakes were to do with stamping, the image smudging or not stamping fully, etc, etc.

The last of the brown (for now)

So I made this card for my friend Tracey whose birthday is today (Happy birthday Trace!) and my husband said it's nice but I've been using too much brown lately (yeah, brown has been my neutral colour of choice, mainly because I bought a whole pack of it). I thought this sounded like a challenge (in a warped kinda way) so I'm making cards without brown for a little while! This is the last of the brown for now:

The design of this card is from an old Stampin' Up catalogue. I've tweaked it to suit my whims.

Materials:
Cardstock: Chocolate Chip, Crumb Cake, Whisper White, Elegant Soiree DSP.
Ink: Versamark, Memento Tuxedo Black, Crumb Cake.
Stamps: Blissful Botanicals and Sophie's Sentiments by Lawn Fawn.
Other: Fiskars Eyelet border punch, Victoria crochet trim (I've called it lace in the past but it's not really called that), Perfect Pearls Mist in Heirloom Gold, American Craft ribbon, circle punch, Basic pearls, Big Shot machine, Beautiful Wings embosslit, mini glue dots, sponge, Fiskars corner rounder punch.

Tips and Tricks:
1. I lightly misted the Whisper White panel with the Perfect Pearls and let in dry before stamping on the sentiment.
2. I sponged around the butterflies with Crumb Cake ink.

Stuff Ups:
1. I messed up the alignment of the border punch so I had to do that again.

Pleasant Surprises:
1. I got the sentiment stamped correctly, first time! Gosh, I love Lawn Fawn stamps!!

A twist on an old favourite

I've made another male birthday card and again this is a twist on my favourite design. I've created several male cards with the patterned paper you see on this card. All are slightly different from each other but have the same basic design.

Here's the recipe -

Materials:
Cardstock: Chocolate Chip, Whisper White, Printed acetate by My Memories, Rough and Tough: Awesome by Kaiser.
Ink: Chocolate Chip, Old Olive, Pear Pizzazz, Bashful Blue, Stazon Black.
Stamps: Trendy Trees by Stampin' Up, Sophie's Sentiments by Lawn Fawn, Roughin' It by Bo Bunny.
Other: Honeydew bakers twine by The Twinery, Martha Stewart circle cutter, sponge, mini glue dots, Fiskars corner punch, stamp-a-ma-jig.

Tips and Tricks:
1. After cutting the circle, I used the scrap card with the circle hole in it as a mask to sponge the grass under the trees. I used a Pear Pizzazz marker to add texture to the grass. I trimmed off the bottom of the circle so it hides nicely behind the twine.
2. I sponged around the circle with Bashful Blue ink to show some sky. I sponged heavier at the top than the sides.
3. Getting a clear, precise image on the acetate took a few tries but luckily I remembered a trick. If you make a mistake on acetate with Stazon, just use Stazon cleaner to wipe off the ink and try again. It worked and didn't damage my acetate.
4. The acetate is secured with mini glue dots.
5. I used a stamp-a-ma-jig for the trees and got their placement right the first time. I stamped the leaves first rather than the trunks as the leaves are the bulkiest part of the tree, therefore they need the correct spacing.

Stuff Ups:
1. Stamping on the acetate took me about 8 tries to get right.
2. I still haven't mastered that circle cutter so the circle is a bit rough around the edge.
3. The Bo Bunny stamps just don't hold Stampin' Up ink nicely. It tends to pool on the surface. Lawn Fawn stamps do hold the ink nicely.

Pleasant Surprises:
1. I like the way the acetate looks on the card, particularly because it is patterned so in some parts you can see through it to the patterned paper underneath and in other parts you can't because it's opaque.

2. The honeydew bakers twine matched the patterned paper perfectly. You may not be able to see the pale green in the paper but it's an awesome, coincidental match.

For my new nephew

This card took me hours to make, mainly because I couldn't think of a design that I liked. I kept playing with layouts, different colour schemes and papers. None felt right. Eventually I came up with this card. I've made it for my niece who gave birth to a gorgeous baby boy on Friday! I am posting this card and a present to her tomorrow.

My card also qualifies to be part of a sketch challenge from Lily Pad Cards, yay! Here's the link to the challenge - Sketch Challenge.

Here's the sketch:

This is also the first baby card I've ever made. I broke out some new Lawn Fawn stamps for the occasion.

Materials:
Cardstock: Bashful Blue, Brushed Silver, Whisper White, watercolour paper.
Ink: Bashful Blue, Versamark, Basic Black, Stazon Black.
Stamps: 'Plus One' and 'Quinn's ABCs' by Lawn Fawn.
Other: Big shot machine, Top Note die, silver embossing powder, aqua painter, white organza ribbon, sponge, Circle cutter by Martha Stewart, mini glue dots, clear Bitty buttons.

Tips and Tricks:
1. I cut a top note die cut with my big shot machine. I stamped the rattle in Bashful Blue to make my own background. The top note die cut was adhered to the Brushed Silver layer. I trimmed the end offs of the die cut.
2. The pram and Charlie's name are stamped with Versamark on water colour paper and embossed with silver embossing powder. I used an aqua painter to colour them in. The wheels on the pram are water coloured with Basic Black ink which has taken on a purplish hue once it was watered down. Bitty buttons are adhered to the pram wheels with mini glue dots.
3. Charlie's name is layered on a piece of Bashful Blue cardstock which is adhered to the top note die cut. This covers up the top of the die cut and gives Charlie's name some dimension without using foam dots.
4. I sponged around the watercolour paper for Charlie's name and the pram with Bashful Blue ink which hasn't shown up in the photo.
5. I placed a mini glue dot behind the knot of the bow to help keep it flat and secure.
6. Lining up the stamps in Charlie's name and the sentiment took some time and tweaking. I tested the position of the stamps with ink on scrap paper until I was happy with the alignment.
7. I tested Memento's Tuxedo Black and Black Stazon on the silver cardstock and found that Stazon gave a blacker, more opaque black than Memento so I went with Stazon.

Stuff Ups:
1. I stamped and embossed Charlie's name many times in my quest to find a style I liked. I used different inks and colours, tried cutting out the letters, coloured the letters with markers, it all took a long time.
2. Some of the rattles didn't stamp properly so I filled in any missing parts with a Bashful Blue marker.
3. I have trouble using Martha's circle cutter so it took me a few attempts to get usable circles.
4. Being a teacher, the lack of capitalisation on the 'congrats' stamp and for Charlie's name does irritate me but I didn't make the stamps so I'll have to live with it. If Lawn Fawn made a Quinn's capitals stamp set, I'd buy it in half a heart beat. Maybe I should suggest it, lol!

Pleasant Surprises:
1. The whole card - didn't think it would look this good (if I do say so myself). My cards are usually pretty average and never look as good as all the other blogs out there. The acid test was my husband's reaction. Rather than, "Oh that's nice honey, very good!" (which I love hearing) I got, "Wow! That's awesome!" He sounded so surprised! I'm so proud of this card!