Rainbow Swallowtail

When I was waiting for my Blendabilities to arrive, I kept thinking how fun it would be to color the large Swallowtail butterfly stamp with them...and it was!

I couldn't decide which color to use...so I ended up using them all and made a rainbow butterfly! I blended the Rich Razzleberry into the Cherry Cobbler and the Cherry into the Pumpkin Pie and the Pumpkin into the Daffodil Delight...I'm sure I'll never see a butterfly like this in nature, but it sure was fun to color!

I had originally planned to make a standard sized card, but I couldn't bring myself to cut any of this beauties wings off...that would have just been cruel, so I went with a 5 1/5" square base using the new Lost Lagoon. I'll just need to create a special envelope...but that will be easy using the Punch Board.

The word "Imagine" is from the Loving Thoughts set...it is on the retiring list and still available in wood mount. (clear mount has already sold out)

Have a great weekend!

Peaceful Petals Sympathy

We all hate having to make sympathy cards, but unfortunately sometimes we need to. Here is one that I had to make this week.

I always try to keep them fairly simple, yet elegant. If you saw my last posting, you can see that I made this card at the same time, using the same products. I watercolored the pretty floral image from Peaceful Petals using my Aqua Painter and inks pooled in the lids of my ink pads. These are the colors I used:

• Wisteria Wonder
• Elegant Eggplant
• Rich Razzleberry 
• Wild Wasabi
• Crushed Curry

To add a little detail I punched the bottom edge using the Scallop Trim Border Punch and added some Basic Rhinestone Jewels. The Elegant Eggplant panel is embossed with the Beautifully Baroque EF. I used the Loving Thoughts stamp set for the sentiment and the little butterfly was made using the Beautiful Wings Embosslit. 

I hope this card brings the recipients some comfort. 

Thanks for visiting today...have a wonderful weekend!

Serene Silhouettes Anniversary

Today I am sharing a card that I basically copied off myself. I created the first card using the same technique & colors a few years back. Since this card (shown here ) using the Just Believe stamp set has been consistently a favorite, according to my stats both here and on Pinterest, I thought I would try another version using Serene Silhouettes.

To create the shadow on the image and really make it pop, it was first stamped in Soft Suede and then using my Stamp-a-ma-jig I offset the image and stamped it again in VersaMark. Then it was embossed using Winter White EP. To make the white image stand out even more on the Very Vanilla card stock, I lightly sponged it with Crumb Cake ink using a Sponge Dauber. 

This version of the card looks more distressed and antiqued than my original card by inking up the edges and also inking the Beautifully Baroque embossing folder with Crumb Cake ink before running it through the Big Shot. 

The little butterfly, from Papillon Potpourri and the Basic Pearls used to adorn the ribbon and flowers add just the right finishing details.

Do you use Pinterest? Here is something to consider when pinning:
Like I mentioned earlier in this post, I can tell if a particular blog posting is popular by checking my stats here and also on Pinterest. Before Pinterest, I used to be able to tell if a post was well liked by the comments received on the actual posting. Now it seems most people don't take the time to post comments anymore, but instead, pin something if they like it...and yes, I'm guilty of the same thing! 

I LOVE Pinterest, so I'm certainly not knocking it BUT every now and then I come across a pin where the pinner is criticizing the creation in the pin description. This just happened to me recently where someone pinned one of my cards, and said they liked the layout, but then went on to say what they didn't like. "OK...thanks for the backhanded compliment B*$%!", I thought to myself. Later, I thought more about it...and it kind of made me mad. Us bloggers take a lot of time to share our creations with others. Most, including myself, are certainly not getting compensated for the time we put into it. Should we really have to read negative comments on a very public forum like Pinterest? 

I know what I post is appealing to some and to others...not so much. I'm fine with that...everyone has different tastes. But unless the person posting is asking for opinions why would someone think it's OK to make negative remarks? For those who need to critique and criticize then maybe they should have a secret board dedicated to those pins? 

Just something to consider when you are pinning someones creation...we never know who is reading what we write and how our words can hurt others who were simply sharing something they thought was their best work. One nice comment can make someone's day...but a negative one can ruin the fun of sharing.

Thanks for stopping by and if you read the above...thanks for listening.