Just hanging around ...

My mother was over from NZ for the past week and she always has to go back with box loads of handmade cards. She also wonders why I make so many cards and that stumped me - how do I explain to her that I love to make cards and I participate in so many challenge blogs, not to win or anything like that, but to do the challenges so that I expand and develop my creativity and most importantly I look at the challenges offered and challenge myself to interpret them in styles and ways that stimulate the creativity ... know what I mean?
Anyway the card below is no exception! I have used the sketch from Cardabilities #32 and have rotated the sketch 180 degrees. The theme comes from Cupcake Crafts 'things with a tail' hence the monkey and this fitted in perfectly with the challenge from Simon Says 'draw inspiration from fruit' hence the bananas - which by the way are an absolute delicacy here in Australia at the moment, with the cyclone earlier in the year that wiped out the main growing area for bananas they are retailing at $12.00 now when they normally would be around $2.00! I haven't had a banana in months and I am craving for them!

here is a close up of the banana leaves and a vine that took me hours to fussy cut!

and the inside - I decided to make it a birthday card

You would noticed that again I have 'hung' something!

materials - Bazzill Ivy and Sunbeam card; MLSB 'farmers market' and Paper Inklings 'family' papers; Watercolour paper; Stampendous 'changito the monkey' stamps and Stamp it 'happy birthday' stamp; Stazon timber brown ink; Marvy pens - pine green (72), dark brown (18); Dove blender pen; Creative Memories circle cutters.

Thanks for looking.