Circles galore and Valentine wishes ....

.... Good morning all - hope you're all fine and well today.  Life here is a bit hectic, but I got some time in my craft room last night to unwind a bit.  I've got quite a bit to share with you today and I'll start with this card which was made with two challenges in mind:

• One Layer Wednesday - OLW78, hosted by Susan at Simplicity - and we must use at least FIVE circles on our card
• The Play Date Cafe Challenge - PDCC118 - just love these colours

Last week I told you that my Aunt had asked me to make her a number of cards, including several birthday cards for her boys and husband.  This is birthday card number three - only one more to make.  As soon as I saw the PDCC colours I knew that they would be perfect for a guy card.  I really like Circle Circus, I think the set works really well for masculine cards.  The idea for this came really quickly, but it took a little while to make as there was a lot of masking involved.  I used post-it notes to mask off the sides of the card to leave a central panel, into which I stamped Circle Circus.  To create depth I stamped a few of the images, masked them off, stamped some more, did a bit more masking and some more stamping.  I finished off by adding birthday greetings above and below the stamped panel.

Stamps:  Stampin' Up! - Circle Circus; Waltzingmouse - Free Spirit - Sentiments
Inks:  Kaleidacolor - Blue Breeze; Stampin' Up! - Daffodil Delight
Accessories:  Card from stash

My second card is a Valentine card for my darling husband Jonathan.  The card has been made with two challenges in mind:

• Do You Stack Up? - DYSU#58 - they have the theme "Love" this week
• CAS-ual Fridays - CFC39 - where the team would like us to make a card using paper piecing

This card came together quickly and easily.  The hearts from Sewing Box Hugs just cry out to be paper pieced.  I simply found some coordinating papers (in Jonathan's favourite colour), stamped the hearts, cut out the layers and attached them to the card.  I stamped a simple frame and sentiment to complete the card.

Stamps:  Waltzingmouse - Frame-It, Sweethearts, Sewing Box Hugs
Ink:  Memento - Cottage Ivy
Paper:  Papermania - Inspirations Cool Tones
Accessories:  Card from stash

The postman brought me a very special envelope yesterday - it was from Meredith and contained all these lovely goodies.

Meredith's giveaway goodies

Meredith set up a 100 Follower Giveaway where we had to comment on her post - and I was the lucky winner.  Thank you so much - I can't wait to play with my new goodies.  Not only did I get all these super bits to play with, but Meredith included this beautiful card too - it's gorgeous!

I've another new follower - please join me in welcoming Evelyn - Hi, great to have you here!  Now I'm off to do a bit more sorting out - we've still got quite a lot of decluttering to do, so while the weather is reasonable, I'm going to fill the skip!!  See you soon.