Flourishing Butterfly

I've been wanting to try this simple mask and sponge technique using the Bold Butterfly Framelits for a while.

First, I cut a butterfly from a piece of copy paper a big enough to cover by background panel and used temp adhesive to hold it in place. Using Sponge Daubers I sponged Marina Mist over the entire butterfly. Then, using Elegant Eggplant I lightly sponged just the edges.

With the mask still in place, I stamped the pretty floral image from Thoughts and Prayers several times to fill in the inside of the butterfly. After removing the mask I stamped the sentiment from the new set Flourishing Phrases.I just love the font used on this set! I die cut the border using the Flourish Thinlits...my favorite new dies from this catalog! I think this adds a nice finishing touch without being too much...I try to keep sympathy cards more clean and simple.

Thanks for visiting today.

Thoughts and Prayers Flowering Tree

My hubby's two week vacation is winding down. It's been warm and sunny, so lots of time to enjoy our pool and get some projects done around the house. Most evenings I've been too busy or too tired to get downstairs in my stamp room. Unfortunately, I received some sad news earlier this week which forced me to get in there and create a sympathy card.

Without doing much stamping in the past couple weeks, I think I'm a bit rusty and had a hard time coming up with something suitable...sympathy cards are always difficult to create anyways. I ended up pulling out my go to sympathy set - Thoughts and Prayers and created this card.

There's a teeny tiny flower die in the Fiesta Time Framelits that was perfect for creating some flowers for this tree. I cut them from Elegant Eggplant cardstock...which for some reason didn't show up that color in my photo. Too late to try and take a better photo however because the card is now on it's way to the recipient. So just imagine that the flowers and mats are Elegant Eggplant, OK? I really love that color paired with Sahara Sand, which is what the main panel is. The flowering vine stamp creates a pretty background when stamped multiple times.

I used the line, wood grain-like image from Gorgeous Grunge inked in Sahara Sand and then stamped off once. It added some interest to otherwise plain background but was light enough to not over power the tree.

Thanks for visiting...I should be back to posting more regularly soon. Have a nice weekend!

Basic Wisteria Lotus Blossom II

I'm back today to share the second card in my three card set using the Butterfly Basics and Lotus Blossoms stamp sets.

This one is the most masculine of the set because I used more Mossy Meadow instead of Wisteria Wonder & Blackberry Bliss when it came to the card stock. I also eliminated the bow and just went with a strip of Mossy Meadow Stitched Ribbon instead.

Check back to see the full set of cards and more info on how I created them in my next post. Until then, scroll down to see the first card in this set.

Thanks for visiting today!

Basic Wisteria Lotus Blossom I

During my last stamping session I stamped using my favorite stamp set from the Occasions Catalog...Butterfly Basics and paired it up with my favorite stamp set from the Sale-a-Bration catalog...Lotus Blossom. Since I was using favorites...I figured I may as well use some of my favorite colors too, right? So, I had to go with some purple...Blackberry Bliss & Wisteria Wonder to be exact. Here's what I came up with...

I ended up making a set of three coordinating cards...all a little different. I'll share the rest of them this week...so make sure to check back.

Please take note: Wednesday, February 18th will be the last day I can fulfill an order for the kits to create my Butterfly Basics Watercolor Collage Set

If you have been considering ordering one of my kits to create this pretty set, please do so before Wednesday. The tutorials will continue to be available. Thanks so much to everyone who has ordered one of my kits or tutorials so far!

Color Me With Blooming Kindness

Here's a card I created using the Blooming With Kindness stamp set.

To add interest, the main panel was cut into 1 inch strips after stamping.

The color combo of Blackberry Bliss, Cajun Craze & Crushed Curry comes from the Color Me Autumn Washi Tape pack...which I used on both the inside of the card and on the front along with Blackberry Bliss Stitched Satin Ribbon.

If you have wondered why I have not posted in a while, scroll on down to see some photos of what has been keeping me busy.

Thanks for visiting!

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 Silhouette Sympathy

Today I have two cards to share...both use the same supplies, technique and colors but I changed up the layout. One is a sympathy card and the other is for a birthday, but either could be used for any occasion really. The Serene Silhouettes stamp set is quite versatile!

I started out planning to make two of the same cards...one to send and one to have on hand for my sample board...BUT I made a slight error. When I use the Woodgrain Embossing Folder and the Timber Wheel on multiple layers, I like to make sure that the grain of the wood on all layers is running the same way. I didn't pay attention to that when I embossed my stamped image of the tree branch and birds, so I decided to make the extra card like this...

I like the way both of these turned out and cannot really pick a favorite. Which one do you prefer?

Thanks for visiting me today...have a great weekend!

Well Worn Lovely Tree

The well worn in my title refers to the paper I used on this card, but I guess it could also refer to the stamp set as well, because Lovely As A Tree has definitely been one of my most used and loved stamp sets. It is by far the only current set I've had since my first year as a demo. I'm glad it made the cut again this year. For those of you who don't have this one yet, you might be pleased to know that it will also be available in Clear Mount in the new catalog starting in June!

Stamps: Lovely As A Tree, Loving Thoughts
Ink: Always Artichoke, Early Espresso, Not Quite Navy
Card stock: Always Artichoke, Early Espresso, Very Vanilla & Well Worn DSP
Accessories: Always Artichoke Seam Binding Ribbon, Labels Framelits, Wood grain Texturz plate (retired), Metallic Brads & Circle Nestabilities

Thanks for visiting today. :-)

Just Believe Sunset

Unfortunately I had to take a break from my scrapbooking projects to make a sympathy card for a friend. It seems like the Just Believe set is one of my go to sets when creating a sympathy card. I thought it would look nice and peaceful to have a pretty sunset as the background...I really love the way this turned out. I hope it brings my friend some comfort.

I sponged on several different shades of Classic Ink onto my Whisper White card stock to create this background. First, was Daffodil Delight sponged inside of a circle I cut out of a post it note. Then I removed the post it mask and covered the yellow circle I had just sponged with a circle the same size - also punched from a post it. Then I sponged the sky surrounding the sun with Tangerine Tango, Pumpkin Pie, Perfect Plum, Regal Rose, Marina Mist and a bit of Always Artichoke as it got to the bottom, grassy area. After it was good and dry, I used my Embossing Buddy on top and then inked the image with VersaMark and heat embossed with Black EP.

The sentiment is from the new set Loving Thoughts available in the Occasions Mini. That was also embossed in black. Here's the complete recipe...

Stamps: Just Believe & Loving Thoughts
Card stock: Perfect Plum, Basic Black, Basic Gray & Whisper White
Ink: Daffodil Delight, Tangerine Tango, Pumpkin Pie, Perfect Plum, Regal Rose, Marina Mist, Always Artichoke & VersaMark
Accessories: Black Embossing Powder, Heat Tool, Basic Rhinestones, Basic Gray Taffeta Ribbon, Edgelits Dies, Adorning Accents Embossing Folders, Perfect Details Texturz Plate & Beautiful Wings Embosslit Die

Thanks for stopping by...have a wonderful weekend!

Elegant Tree

Unfortunately I had to make some sympathy cards this past week. Those are always difficult. I hope they brought some comfort to the recipients. Here is one of the cards I made using the Thoughts & Prayers set along with (retired) Elegant Soiree DSP.

As you can see I used a few new Big Shot Dies here...the Labels Framelits and the Adorning Accents Edgelits with the matching embossing folder. I also did some paper piercing and punched a small hole in each scallop for extra detail. Here's a closer look...

Thanks for stopping by!

Wisteria Tree

I was inspired by the sample on page 160 of the new catalog using the Thoughts & Prayers set. I just changed up the colors and the embellishments but used the pretty much the same layout. I really liked how they used the tree as a background on the bottom strip. Here's my version of that card...

Stamps: Thoughts & Prayers, Tiny Tags & Linen Background (retired)
Card stock: Basic Grey, Wisteria Wonder, Concord Crush & Whisper White
Ink: Basic Grey, Wisteria Wonder, Concord Crush
Accessories: Matchbox Die (label), Basic Gray Taffeta Ribbon, Basic Pearls, Scalloped Trim Border, Mat Stack & Paper Piercer
If you are a regular visitor to my blog, you may have noticed that it looks different? I've been busy working with the Cheerful Treat Hostess Digital Content CD for My Digital Studio. I'm lovin' the new papers & accessories with this kit! Yeah...PURPLE!!! I still have some tweaking to get my page to look how I want it...but hopefully I will get to it later. Thanks for visiting.

Perfect Plum Sympathy

The Just Believe set makes such beautiful cards for any occasion...even sad ones. Here is a sympathy card I had to make recently. I really love the color combo I used...Crumb Cake, Basic Black & Perfect Plum.

I used the thumping technique to color this image. To do that you color your image using markers and then use a darker color which you tap or "thump" onto the rubber. Real technical, eh? I don't really know how else to describe it? lol But it adds some nice shading without taking a lot of time.

Stamps: Just Believe, Teeny Tiny Wishes
Card stock: Crumb Cake, Basic Black, Perfect Plum & Very Vanilla
Ink: Certainly Celery, Always Artichoke, Pink Pirouette, Perfect Plum & Basic Black
Accessories: Basic Pearls, Perfect Details Embossing Plate, Scallop Trim Border, Modern Label & Window Word Punches

Thanks for stopping by today!

Elegant Thoughts

Here's a sympathy card I created for a friend using Elegant Soiree papers and the Thoughts and Prayers stamp set. I really love the colors in this pack of papers...so soft and soothing.

Stamps: Thoughts & Prayers, Teeny Tiny Wishes
Ink: Crumb Cake, Baja Blue & Soft Suede
Card stock: Elegant Soiree DSP, Crumb Cake, Baja Blue, Very Vanilla & Soft Suede
Accessories: Scalloped Trim Border, Decorative Label, Small Oval & Large Oval Punches, Soft Suede Polka Dot Grosgrain (retired)


Have a wonderful weekend!

Woodland Walk With Fifth Avenue Floral

I had not used my Fifth Avenue Floral set in quite some time, but when I had to make a sympathy card last week I wanted to use something besides my go to set...Thoughts & Prayers. It's such a pretty set, I should really use it more.

The rose was stamped in Basic Brown and watercolored using Blushing Bride ink. The paper used was from the Woodland Walk collection. I layered Victoria Crochet Trim over some wide Chocolate Chip Satin Ribbon. The sentiment is from a retired set called Brighter Tomorrow.

We were hit hard with our first snowstorm of the season. It sure looks beautiful outside. The roads were pretty bad last night when I was out...glad I get to stay home today. Time to finish my Christmas cards!

Cracked Glass Floral Sympathy

Here's a sympathy card I made last week for some dear friends. I used the cracked glass technique for the image. After cracking, I sponged on some reinker to the edges. The ink highlights the cracks and makes it look more antiqued. Using Crystal Effects, I glued on some small seed beads to the center of each of the flowers to add more dimension. Here's a close up look:
Stamps: Thoughts & Prayers, Teeny Tiny Wishes
Ink: VersaMark, Always Artichoke, Rich Razzleberry & Soft Suede
Card stock: Always Artichoke, Rich Razzleberry, Soft Suede & Thoroughly Modern DP
Accessories: Scallop Trim Border Punch (SAB), Glassy Glaze EP, Artichoke grosgrain, Word Window, Ticket Corner, Scalloped Oval, Small & Large Oval Punches, Mat Pack & Paper Piercer

Yesterday a big box of SU! goodies came for me, so today I plan to forget about everything until dinner time and do nothing but stamp! Hopefully I'll have some fun new creations to share with you tomorrow. Enjoy your day!

Thoughts and Prayers

Wow, this week sure has flown by! I've been pretty busy with a couple home improvement projects around here, plus I've been designing some cards for an upcoming card class this weekend so I haven't had much time for blogging. After my card class I'll have lots of new things to show you. ;-)

Today I'm sharing a couple simple cards that were one of the make & takes at a workshop I did earlier this week. The guests had their choice of using either the tree or the floral design. Both of these images are so pretty it would be hard to pick. The workshop guests were pretty much evenly split on the tree vs the floral design.


Here's the tree card:
Stamps: Thoughts and Prayers
Card stock: Mellow Moss, Perfect Plum, Whisper White & Perfect Plum DP
Ink: Mellow Moss & Perfect Plum Markers: Chocolate chip, Perfect Plum & Always Artichoke
Accessories: Moss grosgrain ribbon & Ticket Corner Punch
Have a great weekend!

Fresh Cuts Sympathy

This is the first card I created with my new Fresh Cuts goodies. I thought the "thinking of you" script in the background of this collage stamp made it perfect for the sympathy card I needed to make for a friend. I started by embossing the image in black on white card stock. Then I sponged the background using Artichoke, Bravo Burgundy & Eggplant inks.


The 5 Petal flower punch works great with this set as it is such a good companion to the little flower stamp, and of course the die cut notes.



For the background I used Sanded and the little border stamp that comes with this set along the bottom. I really like this set a lot! It looks so pretty embossed! Plus I have always really liked collage style stamps. I read somewhere that there are at least 5 different SU! sets that are used in this collage. Can you spot them? Up until then the only one I had noticed was Riot of Petals. If you look closely you can also see images from Wonderful You, Kind Thoughts, Baroque Motifs & So Much.

Check this out....isn't it the cutest?!!

My good friend made this for my birthday. I love the papers she used and the little bag is just adorable! She had a rub-on tool from Basic Grey in the bag. Thanks for thinking about me Rach...you rock!!!


Now that I finally have my computer running with all my software re-installed (thanks Danny!)I'll be posting on a regular basis again. Thanks for stopping by...hope your day is a good one!

Live Your Dreams in Plum

I hate making sympathy cards. Not only because I feel sad as I am creating them, but because I always worry whether it's suitable or not. After I photographed this card and uploaded it here, I decided that the black ribbon with it's polka dots was too whimsical of a touch for such a solemn occasion. I removed the ribbon, but I still felt it "needed" something. That's when I decided to add the butterfly image instead. What do you think...is this a better option?
Even though I'm still not entirely sure about this card, I decided to share it here because I wanted to show you that I could stamp with the Live Your Dream set and not use Guava, Wasabi or Soft Sky! It dawned on me as I was working on this card that everything I've done with this set up until this point has been done in those colors, because I've been using it along with the matching Afternoon Tea papers.

For this card I stamped the image in White Craft ink on Basic Black card stock and used my pastels to add color.

Stamps: Live Your Dreams, Sanded background & Brighter Tomorrow (retired)
Card Stock: Perfect Plum, Sage Shadow, Basic Gray & Basic Black
Ink: Perfect plum, White Craft & Basic Black
Accessories: Vintage Brads, Stampin' Pastels, ribbon

Thanks for stopping by!

It's all about the accessories

This week I made a few cards, all for men. My inspiration was a really nice color block design that I remembered seeing in a gallery on SCS. Since two of the cards were sympathy cards, I wanted a more toned down color scheme, but I basically used that design, with a few changes. I made the two sympathy cards first, and when I got to assembling the birthday cards, I decided to try using a couple different accessories. I thought I'd show you all three variations.For the sympathy cards I wanted a simple, clean layout so I didn't add any embellishments at all.
The first birthday card was for my brother, so I used some twill tape stamped with the word brother. A simple touch that adds a little extra to the card.



The final card uses a line of three copper brads along the side. I think I like the look of this one the best because it looks so nice with the brushed copper card stock used for matting the tree image. However, I was happy with the way all three cards turned out and it was fun making each one just a bit different.
Stamps: Lovely as a Tree, Weathered background, Warmest Regards (Level 1 hostess set) and Everyday Flexible Phrases
Ink: True Thyme, Chocolate Chip & various for water coloring
Card Stock: Chocolate Chip, Sahara Sand, Always Artichoke, Mellow Moss, Brushed Copper & Watercolor paper
Have a nice weekend!