And the winner of my March giveaway is..........

Throughout March I ran a giveaway to win 10 of my handmade cards for people who either liked my facebook fan page or made a purchase on my Etsy store.  By the end of March I had reached over 100 fans on my page and made several sales on Etsy too.  So on April 1st, I did a drawing to see who the lucky winner would be and it is Laura! Congrats!

Here is a photo of the 10 cards that will be making their way to Laura and I hope she loves them and sends them all out to her friends and family.

Now its time to get started on the 85 wedding invitation sets I have on order so that will keep me busy for a while.

March Madness Day 23 - Oh La La Mothers day card

Yesterday was such a lovely day which I spent most of in the garden doing some spring cleaning, and then today when I woke up its like winter again outside, all gloomy and cold.  It's a good day to stay in doors and be creative.  I also had a Bride to be calling round to discuss her wedding stationery and she decided on a lovely black and white gatefold design with accents of pink and silver.  Now that will keep me busy making 85 sets of invitations, RSVP cards, Thank you cards and place cards.

Looking through my cardstock, I pulled out some toile look card in black and white and some bright sunny yellow card and envelopes and got creating some pretty Mothers Day cards.  Mothers Day in the UK is in April, so I need to get going on making quite afew for all the Brits I know living out here.

With the offcuts of card I made up some matching gift cards to go with each of the cards.

March Madness Day 21 - God Bless America

I've been working on a collection of cards with a military theme, and thought that some patriotic cards would work well too.  I created 6 cards in the red, white and blue theme.  I used a selection of stickers including some photo stickers and buttons.

I may not be an American, but having lived here for over 10 years now, this is my home and I love living here.

March Madness Day 20 - Easy Rider theme cards

On another beautiful sunny day the roads are full of motorcycles out enjoying the great riding weather.  There's nothing like the feeling of riding on the open road on a motorbike, I just love it. I got my licence back in 2008 and have my own bike too.

My cards today are inspired by motorbikes, and I love the metal look with the Harley color theme of black and orange.

Get on your helmet and go for a ride!

March Madness Day 17 - One of those crazy busy days!!

Today has been one of those crazy days where I have been running around all day. My day started with a trip to the vets with my dog Daisy for her follow up on the heartworm treatment she had in February. Thankfully her tests came back negative and she was given the thumbs up from the vet! It's a huge relief as heartworm in dogs can be very harmful if not treated so it was a good thing we caught it early.

The rest of the day has included taking photos and video of the Georgetown Prep students out on the Ropes Challenge course (http://www.upwardenterprises.com/) which was fun, and with such beautiful weather, it makes for even better photos.

I even managed to fit in a run at Baker park in Frederick tonight with a friend, which is just what I needed.

So now at almost 10pm I've just finished my card for today! Its a simple one, which was quick to make, but I like it alot.

Let me know what you think!

March Madness Day 16 - Time for some Easter Bunnies!

It's about a month until Easter and the shops are bursting with everything spring and Easter themed so I thought it about time I made some Easter cards.

Back in the UK the shelves of stores will be filled to the brim with all sizes of chocolate eggs from the chocolate manufacturers all doing their part to help the dentists! Oh I do miss a nice bit of Cadbury's chocolate!!

So here is my Easter card creation, made with some spring patterned cardstock and a bunny stamped on the front. I think I'll make up afew more ready to send out to friends and family too.

March Madness Day 14 - It's a girl!

Wow, I'm half way through my challenge which means its half way through March already! I'm having fun with the cards, and thought I may start to run out of inspiration in the next two weeks, but my motivation has been given a jolt today as I met with someone to talk about wedding invitations and so I'm all exited to get in the craft room and come up with some samples for her.

The color scheme for the upcoming wedding is hot pink, black and silver so will have fun experimenting with some combinations and styles.

I had made up a new baby girl card as it seems that everyone is having baby girls at the moment, and with the announcement that the Beckhams will be adding a little girl to their family in August I thought why not!

March Madness Day 13 - Black & White Cards & Yoga

Today I'm feeling super relaxed after my yoga class this morning. I haven't been to a class in a long time so was a little nervous at first, but I really enjoyed it and hope to make it a regular thing.

While my husband is watching England beat Scotland in Rugby I've been creating some more beautiful cards. I wanted to use some black and white patterned card and paper and then just add one pop of color to each. I love the high contrast between the colors. I ended up making eight cards altogther, 2 of each design as I liked them so much.

I think they would make a great wedding card or even invitations for a glam wedding or party. Let me know what you think.

March Madness Day 11 - Thanking the Troops

Yesterday I saw a video clip on Facebook that was about a young Army dog handler and his dog who died in Afganistan. It's just one of the heartbreaking stories that we read about on almost a daily basis. All of these members of the armed forces from around the world have sacrificed their lives for the rest of us.

I had been asked to make some cards for the troops by a friend who does alot of charity work for the war veterans, and so I decided to make some cards to thank the troops.

Looking through my old photos I found some great shots that I had taken on a trip to Washington DC. The Korean war memorial is one of the most beautiful and erie monuments on the mall.

Thank you to all of the troops around the world who have sacrificed their time away from their families, their own well fair and ultimately their own lives.

March Madness - Day 9 - Friends

Living in the US is great and I've enjoyed meeting new people and making new friends over the 10 years that I've been here, but I do miss my friends from the UK. I get over to see them and family as much as possible, and we always fall into an easy conversation, no matter how long it's been since we saw each other.

When one of my friends suggested I make her a motivational card to inspire her when she looked at it, I wanted to make something extra special for my special friend. Instead of a card I decided to make a wall hanging that she could hang by her desk and see everyday.

For some inspiration myself I read through a lovely book of poems, called Friends Forever and found the perfect one by Collin McCarty called 'Promise Me'. I paired this beautiful poem with some colorful paper and mounted it onto my board which I had covered in a fun knitted look card that reminded me of a warm hug, and a bright yellow gerbera daisy that would brighten any day.

I made a special little hidden message too, just for my friend and so its hidden beneath the 'Thinking of you makes me smile' stamp. I made the hanging ribbon from some daisy ribbon and tied a big beautiful bow on top.

I hope that my friend loves her new wall hanging and that everytime she looks at it, she thinks of me and it makes her smile.

March Madness - Day 8 - Flock of Song Birds

Following the day of rain on Sunday, then snow on Monday, today it's looking a bit more like spring with the sun in the sky and birds chirping in the tree's.

With this in mind I decided to make some bird theme cards for todays part of the challenge, and ended up making four cards! Well one on it's own would be kind of lonely so I made a whole flock of bird cards.

I love using bright colorful card and paper, and when I can use the card for the background and also cut out part of it to make the accent, it's even better. I'm quite nifty using a pair of scissors to cut out shapes and for the really tricky bits, like between the birds tiny feet, I use my trusty knife.

I can just hear these cards chirping with the joys of spring!

Remember, for every purchase from my Etsy store, or 'like' on my Facebook page, you'll be entered into a draw to win 10 of my lovely hand made cards!

www.lizfelgatecrafts.etsy.com

March Madness Day 7 - Hearts and Monkeys!

So today I'm feeling extra inspired and have made two new cards, that are completely different! The first one is a floating hearts card that is very simple, but took a while to make. Punching out all the hearts from different papers, then carefully folding them in half and sticking them on the card, in just the right place! but I'm pleased with how it turned out.

I may even frame this card in a white shadow box frame and hang it on the wall, as its like a little piece of art!

The second card was fun to make and I'd been wanting to use the great leaf patterned paper for ages, and the little monkey stamp went perfectly for the jungle theme. I dug about in my ribbon box and found the giraffe ribbon and also some foam leaves and flowers to add the finishing touch. It's always hard to know where to stop with the decorations or you could end up with something looking like a Mardi Gras float!

Hope you like them, and have enjoyed following my challenge, 1 week down, 3 more to go.

March Madness Day 6 - Inspiration cards!

What a wet and horrible day it is today, I'm glad I'll be staying indoors doing some work on cards and website. I was up really early this morning (too early for a Sunday), and after a wet walk with the hounds I set to work on some new cards.

Today my inspiration was inspiration itself. A friend had asked if I could create some inspiration cards that she could give to her staff at work, and had given me some of her favourite quotes to work with.

Digging through my stacks of paper I found some great paper that I brought years ago, which has the image of Mount Washington and the Statue of Liberty on, in an old sepia/old photograph kind of way. I thought it would be perfect for the one quote by President Roosevelt.

I printed out the quotes onto plain paper, and then printed out the extra verse onto vellum and overlayed them on the front of the card. Some grosgrain ribbon finished them off along with some little brass brads.

March Madness - Day 3 - Glamour Girl Card

Day 3 of the challenge and today I decided to make a card inspired by watching the Oscars over the weekend. Seeing all of Hollywood turned out in their most glamorous outfits!

What glamour girl doesn't like a bit of sparkle, so for this card I used some sparkle card, cut into a frame around the fancy stickers. I added some extra bling with more crytals and a filgeree stamp inside and on the envelope.

Hope you like it! Let me know what you think and if you have any suggestions for a card you'd like me to make. If I make a card from your idea, I'll send it to you!

Love is in the air!

You wouldn't believe its only 14 days until Valentine's day as the stores have been filled with hearts and fluffy teddybears since before Christmas! If you're looking for something better than a heart shaped box of Russel Stover chocolates and a Hallmark card, then feast your eyes on this selection of fine handmade goods.

The Gifts Inn Boonsboro has a beautiful selection of items all created by local artists including fine jewelry, paintings, pottery, glassware, furniture, and my lovely handmade greetings cards. They are holding a Champagne Chocolate Reception on February 10th from 6-8pm so why not drop by and see what they have to offer. The jewelry exhibit will be on from Feb 5th-28th, so plenty of time before and after Valentines day to stop by.

I've designed some new cards for Valentines day that are available for purchase at my Etsy Store aswell as at the Gifts Inn Boonsboro. On Etsy you will find all kinds of marvolous handmade creations for almost any budget and style.

I'm proud to be a member of the Etsy Greetings Team who are a bunch of very talented people all sharing my passion for making beautiful handmade cards. Check out some of their special creations for their special Valentines Day promotion.