"Dinner for six for one" --Joey "The One with Phoebe's birthday dinner"

Except not six. More like 3 cards for 1 post. But there was no FRIENDS reference for that.
I don't even know why I thought of that quote. But that was the first thing that popped into my head when I started this post so that's the title :)

First up we've got a birthday card inspired by this week's CASE Study's challenge #187:

I won't lie, I really wasn't sure where to start with this one. I even looked through the cards already posted for some help and I was still flailing. There was so much freedom with this that I just drew a big blank and my whole brain went derp.

After spinning around in the chair in the craft room for 30 minutes, unable to think up anything, I decided I'd just play around and over-stamp some card. When I looked back at the challenge I realized that I had used colours from the inspiration so woohoo. Eventually I ended up with this:

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BADDIEBINS!!!! I need to get better at my photography skills thought because some the colours in the picture are kind of off...that butterfly is coming out pretty pink/bright magenta but it's actually more of a dark purple/deep magenta :S oh well, can't do shit about it now, I already gave the card away! Either way BaddieBins loved it so that's all that really mattered!

My next card was based on an extra special inspiration challenge because Runway Inspired and CAS(e) this Sketch! teamed up for it! I always find it really awesome when blogs team up because usually I always try my best to combine different inspiration challenges when I make a card so when the blogs do it ahead of time I always feel that it's like "they read my mind".

Plus it feels like going to a concert of a band you love and having another band you love headline with them and it's getting two concerts for one! Like when Fall Out Boy toured with Panic! at the Disco (that was an AWESOME concert omg and twenty-one pilots opened for them and just, omg. best. day. ever. Seriously, the set list that night was one for the history books!) 

Or like the joining of two already-powerful houses to rule the land! Like the Targaryens and the Martells when Rhaegar Targaryen married Elia Martell ....except wait, no, that didn't work out so good so maybe not that marriage specifically. It's more like when Baelor the Blessed (of House Targaryen) ruled on the Iron Throne and married off his cousin Daeron II to Princess Myriah Martell (of Dorne) and also married off his sister Daenerys (the first, not the Khaleesi) to the ruling Prince of Dorne Maron Martell which finally united Dorne with the rest of the Seven Kingdoms and there was peace.

But I digress.

*important note*: That Game of Thrones reference is a history lesson! It took place around 197AC, about 170 years before Robert Baratheon won the rebellion and took the Iron Throne so any fans of the show that stumble across this page don't have to worry about spoilers! :)

Anyway, here is Runway Inspired #58 and CAS(e) this Sketch! #73:

And here's what I got up to! Happy Birthday to KhaleesiPaula!

The "blood orange" flowers of the top were the first thing that stood out to me.

*FUN FACT* This goes through my mind every time I think of the colour blood orange.

The black and blue colours were the next ones I noticed. I was going to go with red flowers but a second glance at the photo made me change my mind. Black was the main colour of the shirt so I decided I wanted black flowers! I did more over-stamping for part of the background because it's really my go-to technique.

The sister had commented when she saw the card "You really like that technique, don't you?" To which I had to honestly reply, "Actually it's just because I am seriously incapable of nicely-stamping single stamps." That's it. That's the only reason I do over-stamping. If I could nicely stamp just a few things on a card I would but I can never get the stamp exactly in the proper place nicely or have the stamp go on evenly! It's just so much extra work that I don't bother. Over-stamping is easy because it's all messy and it's supposed to be messy and people think "oh you're so creative and you took so much time for that technique" but really it's because I'm lazy. Maybe I'll get better at normal stamping. Maybe. Eventually.

And for the last card of the night....Brace yourselves. Winter is coming. Yes, more Game of Thrones. And not just a Game of Thrones reference but a GAME OF THRONES CARD!!!!

TA-DA!!!!

Yes that is dothraki under the miss you. It reads "me nem nesa" which is a very common saying in Dothraki
they said it a lot on the show as well, it means "it is known"
It is written under the "miss you" sentiment because, well, it is known that I miss her! :)

This card isn't for a challenge, this is just a card. I said I'd do a GoT/LOTR-themed card for KhaleesiPaula and I decided on GoT. I would've done a map of Middle Earth but there was no "narrow sea" in Middle Earth I could use and since we always call the Atlantic Ocean our "narrow sea" the GoT map seemed like a better idea. This is a partial map of The Known World of A Song of Ice and Fire. Westeros on the west/left side, Essos on the east/right side. (It's missing the Shadow lands beyond Asshai (which has ghost grass that the Dothraki believe one day will consume the world) and Sothoryos because the card is only so big)

I am the pink heart in Dorne (because I am the Princess of Sunspear, Arianne Martell. It makes sense if you know me) and KhaleesiPaula is across the narrow sea riding on Drogon's back. If you didn't know that GoT has dragons then you clearly didn't watch the first season and I can't help you so it doesn't matter if you get spoiled.

For GoTshow fans who are not caught up on season 3 LOOK AWAY! For those who are all caught up to season 4: yes, that is Drogon breathing fire on Astapor. I made it as up to date as possible in terms of the show, not in terms of the books. For book fans: I hope you caught that final A Dance With Dragons reference ;)

The map I found was actually incredibly detailed, it had pretty much all of the cities names, it had the mountains, rivers and lakes, it was very intricate. I NEED IT FOR MY ROOM. However the size of the card made it impossible to see anything. So I put some vellum paper on top and labelled all the important places.

Westeros rollcall! Starting in the north I've labelled: The Wall, Castle Black, Winterfell (skipped out on the Dreadfort because I'm not a fan of their house SHAME ON THEM, SHAME ON THE BOLTONS BOOOOO and The Iron Islands because I couldn't fit it on the page). 
In the south we've got: Casterly Rock, King's Landing, Highgarden (I ADORE MARGAERY) and Dorne.

Essos rollcall! Starting from the left I've labelled: Braavos, Pentos (skipped the Free Cities because there are so many yet so little space). 
In the right we've got Vaes Dothrak (where my tears dried out, oh Khal Drogo...) The Dothraki Sea, The Red Waste, Qarth on the right side of the Red Waste, Astapor on the bottom left side of the Red Waste, Mereen on the top left side of the Red Waste. (Skipped Yunkai because I couldn't fit it in)
At the bottom: Valyria! (or what is left of it)

This card was a TON of fun to make but it was also a pain in the ass. SO much work because...well who has dies for dragons? Or a stamp of the map of The Known World? But once that is made omg I will be the first to buy it.

That's it for now! If you thought this post had too many Game of Thrones references, you should read the card :P

-Happy dreams!