Butterfly Infatuation

I hereby dub this month of July as Butterfy month.  I have been seriously infatuated with butterflies lately.  Butterflies have always held a special meaning to me.  They remind me of that beautiful song by Dolly Parton titled "Love is Like a Butterfly".  It's an older song that I listened to quite often as a young girl.  The lyrics are beautiful and she sings it in such  a soft, angelic voice.

"Love is like a butterfly, as soft and gentle as a sigh"

 "The multicolored moods of love are like it's satin wings"

"Love makes your heart feel strange inside, it flutters like soft wings in flight"

"Love is like a butterfly, a rare and gentle thing."

 The butterflies I used for these cards are:

Simon Says Stamp: 

Devonshire Butterfly

Paulina Butterfly

Paper Smooches:

Graceful Beauties 

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Everything's Coming up Roses

Oh Altenew Vintage Roses, how I do I love thee?  Let me count the ways.

1.  As a beautiful frame around a traditional oval die.  Once I practiced and finally figured out some color combinations that worked well together I decided to make my first card with my new Vintage Roses stamp set by Altenew.      

2.  As a beautiful bouquet accent piece with lots of added greens.

This is a very popular and well sought after stamp set in the card world right now and when you see how beautiful these roses are you'll know why.  Amazing shading and depth!  Some of them have three layers of color and some even have four layers. 

3.  As a dimensional accent piece to compliment any greeting.

The coordinating dies are a must have.  I am so in love with this stamp set  and it's huge!  You really get a big bang for your buck with his one.

I just can't get enough of these gorgeous roses.  Thanks so much for stopping by.

Tickled Pink!

I really didn't notice my obsession with pink this month until I sat down to make this posting of my latest cards.  Wow!  I think Simon Says Stamp's Doll Pink cardstock started it all.  What a fabulous color!

This gorgeous butterfly die from SSS really packs a punch!

Look how large and gorgeous these Paper Smooches Rose dies are!  I offset a top layer of doll pink to add some more dimension. You can't see it too well in this photo but those fabulous pink sequins match the little butterfly perfectly.

How fun is this shaker card using this beautiful Heidi Swapp paper??  It's framed in some Doll Pink  using a  crossed stitch oval dye from My Favorite Things.  The fuse tool is still on my wish list so until then I use my Food Saver sealer to make this little clear pocket full of sequins and glitter.  It worked great! 

I am totally in love with this Anemones layered stamp and die set from WPlus9.  I have been able to use them in so many different ways.  I reached for them to make this beautiful sympathy card and they added just the perfect amount of color.

Then I just got crazy and stamped a whole background.  I diecut the flowers and inlayed them into the background.  That was such an easy way to add color and depth to this card. 

And just a little pop of pink to this bright blue water color resist background really set this card off. A little pink can sure go a long way!

Thanks for stopping by!  Think Pink!!  ;) 

Weekend fun cards

 I was lucky enough to get a few hours to make some cards this weekend and boy did I have fun!  

I've been wanting to make a shaker card out of this MFT champagne glass for a long time.  I just love the combination clear sequins mixed with large gold glitter.  The sequins remind me of bubbles.

While I was waiting for my new Kuretake Zig Clean Color Real Brush markers I whipped out my Tim Holtz distress markers to make this  awesome background and flowered piece.  I just scribbled on the background in a few different vibrant colors and then sprayed with water and added some big water droplets.  I love Distress ink!

My first time trying out Lil' Inker Designs Ombre' striped paper and absolutely love it!  It really makes a great background.  I also used  LID's new Coffee Talk stamps for the first time.  I really loved what Sarah Jay did with this stamp set, especially with the chocolate "drizzle" over the top.  I thought it looked so realistic and fun!   I totally snagged that idea for my card.  Thanks Sarah!

And being the thrifty little cardmaker that I am I used the cutout piece from the last card to make a focal point for this card.  That sweet little Unforgettable elephant with a birthday balloon and hat.  And this is my first attempt at coloring with my new Zig markers.  It was so easy and fun!  So glad I gave the Kuretake Zig Clean Color Real Brush markers a try.

Thank you so much for stopping by!

A few cards from me to you.

I'm taking a little break from all of the challenges for a while so I can focus on just creating for me......no rules, no guidelines, just letting loose and creating some fun!

This card I made for my sweet daughter Amber.  She's turning 29 this week and I'm just in a daze, wondering where the time went.  She just got offered a management position so I really thought this sentiment by WPlus9 was perfect!   I watercolored the background and then tried a soft bokeh affect by stamping circles with white pigment ink.   I altered this Art Impressions Cupcake BFF's stamp a little by adding an apron and changing out the cupcake for a tiered cake that I just happened to have in my stash.  I love it because it fits so perfectly in her hands.  Those awesome balloons are a new stamp and die set I just ordered from Lil' Inker Designs.  I really love all the different designs in the stamp set that make the balloons look so festive.

Sympathy cards are always a tough one for me but these beautiful Anemones and Lattice Die by WPlus9 made it one of the easiest cards I've ever made.  Totally in love with this background die!

Check out this awesome watercolor background I made using Ranger Tim Holtz Distress inks.  It is the perfect background for a coffee cup card and a great chance to use that new Sizzix Tim Holtz Splat die.

I pulled out a few retired MFT stamps to make this really cute hot air balloon die.  The sentiment is from Simon Says Stamp.

Thanks so much for stopping by.  I'll be back posting more soon!

MFT Wednesday Sketch Challenge # 233

It's time for another sketch challenge over at My favorite Things.

Everyone needs a few congratulatory cards in their stash for those special occasions that come up like anniversaries, engagements, retirements and graduations.   I glammed this one up a little with some strips of sparkly Recollections glitter paper and some foil cardstock.  I also decided to go a little cockeyed with the middle layer just to add a little interest to the stark, straight lines in this week's sketch.

For this card I used the following supplies from:
My Favorite Things:
In & Out Diagonal Stitched Rectangle STAX
Striped Backgrounds Stamp Set

I also used:
Lil' Inker Designs: Stitched Mats: Rectangle dies, Stitched Mats: Circles dies
Mama Elephant:  Confetti-Creative Cuts
Recollections: gray and silver chevron glitter paper
Hero Arts Shadow Inks:  Tide Pool and Charcoal
Hero Arts sentiment stamp set

Thanks so much for stopping by!

MFT Summer School - Lesson 5

Finishing out the week with some Quiet Space/White Space for Lesson #5 in My Favorite Things Summer School.

For this card I revisited a favorite design of mine that I made for Operation Write home a while back.  I stenciled and inked the background and made balloons out of some little hearts that I stamped.  I used a square die to emboss a frame around the inked square.  I popped up the skyline die with some foam tape for a little dimension.  It's a very simple card with lots of crisp, beautiful white space.

For this card I used the following supplies from:
My Favorite Things:
Skyline Border Die-Namics
Pierced Square Die-Namics STAX
Candy Jar Companions Stamp set (hearts)
Vintage Cameo Stamp set (sentiment)

I also used:
Hero Arts Shadow Inks:  Butterbar, Orange Soda, Pale Tomato

Thanks for stopping by!

MFT Summer School - Lesson 4

My Favorite Things Summer School lesson #4 - Balance/Line

The lines actually have two purposes in this card.  One is to ground the sentiment and the other is to serve as a backdrop for the stamped character embellishment.  I stamped the lines on two layers.  The top layer of white is popped up up with fun foam for added dimension.

For this card I used the following supplies from:

My Favorite Things:

Striped Backgrounds Stamp set

Chalkboard Greetings Stamp set

Lil' Inker Designs:

Stitched Mats: Rectangles

I also used:

Art Impressions: Cupcake BFF's stamp set

Memento Ink: Tuxedo Black

Ranger Tim Holtz Distress Markers:  Black Soot, Cracked Pistaccio, Stormy Sky, Worn Lipstick, Antique Linen, Tattered Rose

silver sequins

Thanks so much for stopping by!

MFT Summer School - Lesson 3

My Favorite Things Summer School Lesson #3 is studying Movement/Flow.

For this card I used the following supplies from:

My Favorite Things:

Stencil Raindrops

Layered Umbrella Die-Namics

Up, Up & Away stamp set

In & Out Diagonal Stitched Die-Namics STAX

Blue Skies Ahead Stamp set

I also used:

Versamark ink

clear embossing powder

Memento Ink: Tuxedo Black

Hero Arts Shadow Ink:  Soft Granite

clear sequins

Thanks so much for stopping by.

MFT Summer School - Lesson 2

Lesson two of My Favorite Things summer school is:  Focal Point.

I used the following supplies from:

My Favorite Things:

Cloud Cover Up Die-Namics

Up, Up & Away Die-Namics

Up, Up & Away Stamp Set

Pinstripe Background Stamp

I also used:

WPlus9 Strictly Sentiment stamps

Lil' Inker Designs: Quilted Stitched Pattern Die, Stitched Mats: Rectangle dies and 

Stitched Sentiment Flag Die

Hero Arts Shadow Inks:  Charcoal, Pool and Orange Soda

Ranger Tim Holtz Distress markers: Squeezed Lemonade, Stormy Sky

Wink of Stella Glitter Brush

clear sequins

Thanks for stopping by!!

MFT Summer School - Lesson One

For the first time ever, I'm excited about summer school!  LOL!  Here we go with My Favorite Things and lesson number one.    Composition: Rule of 3rds.

I'm not sure why, but this one was a hard one for me.  I've never been conscious of this rule in my card making.  I usually just do what's pleasing to my eye.  While I understand the 3rds rule, the concept was difficult for me when I tried to transfer it to paper.

For this card I used the following supplies from:

My Favorite Things:

Stitched Jumbo Fishtail Banner Die-namics STAX

Staggered Hearts Border Die-namics

Friends Like Us Stamp set

Own Your Story Stamp set

Inside & Out Diagonal Stitched Rectangle Die-Namics STAX

I also used:

Lil' Inker Designs: Long & Skinny Rectangles

Hero Arts Shadow Ink:  Soft Granite

pink foil cardstock

Thanks for stopping by!

MFT Color Challlenge #23

Playing with some awesome colors today using this weeks color challenge from My Favorite Things.

For this card I used the following supplies from:

My Favorite Things:

Watercolor Backdrop Stamp set

Many Thanks Die-Namics

I also used supplies from:

Lil' Inker Designs: Stitched Mats: Rectangle dies

Winnie & Walter:  Big, Bold, You stamp set

Ranger Tim Holtz Distress Inks: Mustard Seed, Picked Raspberry, Shaded Lilac, Green Hills

Memento Inks: Tuxedo Black

Wink of Stella Clear Glitter Brush

fun foam and sequins

Thanks for stopping by!

LID's Monthly Meetup Challenge - June

Another fun day playing with Lil' Inker Designs stamps and dies so I figured I 'd pick another favorite to add to their Monthly Meetup Challenge.

I thought I'd whip up some cute little note cards using those adorable little flip flop dies and greetings.  They make summer cards so much fun!  I'm making up card sets as gifts for a couple of my friends.  This first one is totally Lil' Inker.  Check out that adorable floral patterned stamp that comes in the stamp set.  Perfect for frilly little flip flops! 

For this card I used the following supplies from:

Lil' Inker Desigsns:

Flip Flop Dies

Flip Flop Sentiment Stamps

Stitched Mats: Long & Skinny Rectangles

Sunshine Die: Large

Stitched Sentiment Flag Die

I also used:

Hero Arts Shadow Ink:  Bubblegum

Memento Ink:  Tuxedo Black

And here's another cute card in this set that I made showcasing those adorable flip flops in the sand.

For this card I used the following supplies from:

Lil' Inker Designs:

Flip Flop Dies

Flip Flop Sentiment Stamps

Stitched Mats: Rectangles

Anytime Tags Die Set

I also used:

My Favorite Things: Palm Tree Die-Namics, Striped Backgrounds Stamp Set

Hero Arts Shadow Ink:  Bubblegum

Memento Ink:  Tuxedo Black

Thanks so much for stopping by!

MFT Wednesday Sketch Challenge #232

It's almost Wednesday and another sketch challenge is due soon over at My Favorite Things.

This one really was a challenge for me this week.  When I look at this sketch the first thing I see is lots of white space and it's just so darn square.  Those two elements had me stumped for a bit but I finally was able to throw something together, staying very true to the layout of this sketch.

I went with a cute little coffee theme and dressed it up a little with lots of layers and a pretty bow.

For this card I used the following supplies from:

My Favorite Things:

Perk Up Stamp set

Mini Scallop Die-Namics

Pierced Square Die-Namics STAX

Lil' Inker Designs:

Stitched Mats: Rectangles

I also used:

Hero Arts Shadow Inks: Tide Pool, Soft Sand

Heidi Swapp Dream 6x6" papers

Recollections chunky glitter hearts

clear embossing powder

Wink of Stella clear glitter brush

Thanks for stopping by!

Elmo say......Happy Birthday Waylon!

I just thought I'd share this cute little card I made for my nephew's little boy Waylon who just turned 2 last week.  He loves Elmo so I just kept it clean and 2 year old simple.  This design is floating all around the internet so I'm sorry I can't name where my inspiration came from.  He's just Elmo.

On the inside I just kept it pretty basic with his name and a little birthday wish along with a place to put his toy store gift card.  

Happy Birthday Waylon!

A peachy kind of day.

Yesterday I had plans to meet up with my old friend Mary and I really wanted to take her some of my handmade cards.  So, Friday night I whipped up a set of five cards using  this simple and adorable little $6.00 stamp set from one of my favorite  stamp companies, WPlus9.

I really loved the simplicity of this set and I thought it was even more cool that Mary's last name is of course,   Peachy!  (spelled a little different but you get the jest).  So....I just started stamping peaches......peaches....and more peaches.  It's amazing how much fun six bucks can buy you and just a great way to spend a rainy Friday night.  

Okay....let's get peachy........

I couldn't believe how easy it was to pull together five different cards using the same stamped image, the same sentiments and the same colors.  

Then I whipped up a cute little peachy gift box to put her peachy cards in.

Both sides got the peachy treatment!

I hope Mary can find a way to use all of these cute little notecards.  She really is a peach!!

Thanks for stopping by!