Magazine freebie cards

When I left my previous job, my wonderful colleagues gave me the most thoughtful present - a year's subscription of Cardmaking & Papercraft magazine. The June issue arrived yesterday and it came at a perfect time. I was stuck in catastrophic traffic congestion for about four times as long as it usually takes me to get home after work. When I saw the magazine had arrived, I made myself a large glass of Pimm's and took a deck chair out into the sunshine in the garden a browsed the magazine to forget about my traumatic drive home. 

The magazine came with the cutest Oscar the Owl & Pals stamps, and I immediately had to try them. I used some papers that came free with the magazine and used Tim Holtz distress markers to colour the cute critters. I used a punch for the banners and die cut the letters. The pink card says "baby" and the owl card says "congratulations" in Finnish. I used a bit of Distress ink around the edges of the stamped panels and finished with adding some faux stitching around the edges. I also stamped and coloured a little inside the cards and made matching envelopes. I think that's the finishing touch, making sure the envelopes and insides of the cards are not just left blank but given a little touch up.

Inside and envelope for the fox card

Inside and envelope for the owl card

I used this week's Freshly Made Sketch as an inspiration for the layout of the owl card. My inspiration for the fox card was this week's Color Throwdown with a lovely pink colour theme, and I'm also entering it into the Shopping our Stash challenge, which this week is "Critters". I think these cards go to show that although most crafters (me included) end up spending fortunes on crafting equipment, card making can be done on a budget and it's about the imagination more than the expensive stuff you buy. I used free goodies and leftover scraps for almost everything in these cards. The stamps and paper were free with a magazine, and the banners and letters were all die cut from left over scraps of paper. Also, the matting paper was leftover bits and pieces left over from other projects and taken from my stash box. Pretty much the only thing that is "new" is the white card used for the card base. And I still think these turned out great!

Cardstock: Leonardo Stationery 350 gsm Smooth White Card, A4 Coloured 240 gsm Craft Card in Pink Raspberry and Pink Sorbet, brown cardstock from my stash, Hobbycraft 160 gsm white card
Paper: Free paper from Cardmaking & Papercraft magazine
Stamps: Free Oscar the owl & Pals stamps from Cardmaking & Papercraft magazine
Inks: Tim Holtz Aged Mahogany, Antique Linen, Vintage Photo and Worn Lipstick inks, Tim Holtz Distress markers in Aged Mahogany, Bundled Sage, Evergreen Bough, Gathered Twigs, Mowed Lawn, Picked Raspberry, Ripe Persimmon and Worn Lipstick, Stampin' Write marker in Blushing Bride
Other: Stampin' Up Banner punch, Sizzix Bug in a Rug alphabet die