A gem of a challenge!

This week we have a gem of a challenge for you at Cute Card Thursday - yes, we want to see a touch of bling!  Well, the postman came with this cute Marianne Design basket die (and a few other bits and pieces) I found at Bunny Zoe's craft shop, it has been on my wish list a while but being an older die is not always available, so I grabbed it quick!  Nikki is sponsoring our gem challenge and did you know she is offering 20% off stamps .. .. I had to have a few of those too!  Anyway, as soon as I opened the die I had to have a play with it, and with the gem theme in mind I got out a little bag of flower gems I got at a show way back, fiddled about with other little die cut pieces and this is what I made.  It's a small C6 card and fairly flat despite the flower gems.  The bigger flowers, the clear ones, have a dip in the centre so I added little pink gems to them and to the bodies of the tiny butterflies too (from another new to me die set - they are so sweet).

Here's the list of Marianne Design things on this card:
Pretty Paper bloc PK9089 Beautiful Butterflies for my pink patterned background paper I've edged with pink Stickles.
ivory lacy background die cut from LR0272
basket die CR1206 and tiny leaves CR1210
larger leaf sprays LR0192
butterflies from LR0261
banner with text stamp COL1324

I couldn't see any other challenges to link up my flower basket too, perhaps you know of one or two?

This morning I've woken up with a stiff neck and headache, due no doubt to carrying a large heavy pot of lilies from one end of the garden to another .. .. I should know by now not to strain my neck muscles.  So, I've dosed myself with Ibruprofen and after another cup of coffee will have to get the car out and go to Tescos or I can't do any laundry, and I need to do change Mum's bedding today.  I'll take it easy, and maybe craft a little when I get back, although with the boxed set of A Song of Ice and Fire to read, a gift from DH, I keep getting distracted.  I'd told him that I'd like to ready and/or see the Game of Thrones, so he got me the set at a bargain price - that's 7 big fat paperbacks to read!  Well I've just finished the first one, Game of Thrones, and enjoyed it, but found I needed to concentrate as there was a lot of 'story' going on.  I'd seen the first few episodes on freeview tv a while back and would like to see the rest so need to find a friend with Sky!  I was pleased that the tv series seemed to be sticking closely to the story in the book - I wonder how it will turn out, a few heroes already dead or done for, and a few villains too, but as each chapter is written from a character's view point, you can find out that not everyone is as they seem!