A Few More Butterfly Cards

Hello!
I'm back with the final card from the Kaleidoscope of butterfly cards I shared in my last post. My camera batteries died and I couldn't get a photo of it.

Ink Blended with Wilted Violet ink. Die Cut Stamplorations Flutter Zen1 Butterfly dies, Gina Marie embossing folder(discontinued), sentiment from Lawn Fawn Gingham  Backdops stamp set, MFT Wonky Stitched Rectangle, Spectrum Noir Glitter pen

I didn't share in that post that I almost gave up on these dies as I couldn't get a clean cut for the life of me. I have an original Cuttlebug from around 2006. I'd had another fairly intricate die I'd tried to cut and couldn't get a clean cut for that one either. So I started thinking maybe it was my machine getting too tired to work well. Carol suggested I contact Shery, from Stamplorations. She was able to give me the correct sandwich and I got a great cut! I dug out that other die and tried the same sandwich and that die worked, too! Instead of having the die cut down, you turn it the other way, face up, and add a bit of a shim (the cardstock that comes with the packaging) and voila! Success!

MFT Peekaboo Window Die, Memory Box  Butterfly Die (discontinued?), Lawn Fawn Perfectly Plaid pattern paper, Lawn Fawn stitched rectangle die, Spectrum Noir glitter pen

I guess this will be my final, butterfly final card(for now)! 😊This one I made today. I shamelessly copied this from Carol as well. You can see her beautiful card here. Okay, I changed the butterfly. This is the other intricate die I couldn't get to cut. I had actually thrown the die into the trash, convinced it was defective. I bought it a year or so ago and couldn't return it, so if it didn't cut right, what good was it to me?Thankfully, I hadn't emptied the trash bin yet. 😌

Thanks so much for stopping by!
I hope you are having a wonderful weekend.
It's been snowing here today.  April in Colorado, gotta love it.
After going on a very successful stampy shopping trip, I spent a good part of the afternoon creating cards!
Yippee!

Hugs!
Jeanne

A 'Kaleidoscope' of Butterflies for You

Hello!

Oh goodness, it's been a while, hasn't it? I'll give you the short version. I've been a bit busy. Too short? Because aren't we all busy?! Okay, a little bit longer version. 

A few days after my last post, I got a call from my brother that my dad was going to have a stent put in. Right after Christmas my dad got the flu and pneumonia (he had received both vaccines well before the seasons hit). Anyway, throughout the month after he initially got sick(January), he'd been in and out of the hospital because he couldn't shake the pneumonia and was having trouble breathing. During that time it was determined that he had 3 blocked arteries and needed stents. So I went out to CA for a few days to help him after the procedure. Well, there was a delay and the procedure (they only did the worst of the three) took place later in my stay. Dad came through it fine, thank goodness. I left on Sunday and on Tuesday morning, my brother called to say that Dad was having trouble breathing and he was back in the hospital. It was pretty serious. I flew back that day and stayed for over 2 weeks. Dad was in the hospital one week and a rehab facility the second and I stayed part of a third week to be sure he was not going to end up back in the hospital. Thankfully, this time he seemed to get better. He has been home ever since. Whew! So, that is part of the reason I've been gone so long. I'm just hoping he doesn't get another cold or heaven forbid, pneumonia again for a good long while!

My girls have kept me hopping. Amy's Winterguard season was busy and they ended up qualifying for the state competition. After a very long day and two performances, her group came in 4th out of 18 teams! Pretty exciting! Amy's also been on a long weekend trip to Orlando, Florida for band. Plus various bingo sessions, practices and what not. Jessica joined a few new to us clubs and a couple of them held competitions. One was a Math Counts competition(3-4 of them actually) and the other a Battle of the Books. Her BOB team came in 1st for her school and 3rd in the district! Oh my! She just got back from a weekend trip to Grand Junction with her band. They've also had a few concerts in there, too. I cannot complain about them, other than when they are in teen mode. That's not so fun. But they are totally normal. 

Work has kept me busy, too. My co worker has had a family emergency and has been gone several days. I've picked up a few extra hours. Nice for the wallet, but my body is resisting! LOL 

The end of school is coming up already and that means clubs are starting to wind down. Which means a little less driving for me. Which theoretically means more crafty time. This weekend I was able to play and I have several butterfly cards to share with you! I looked up what a lot of butterflies together is called and Mr. Google said a kaleidoscope or a swarm or a rabble. I like the first choice the best. :)

I was completely inspired (enabled) to  buy these Stamploration stamps and dies (Flutter Zen 1, Flutter Zen 2 and Trendy Butterflies 2 because of Carol's cards (of Just me: c blog) here and here. Isn't her work glorious? Here are my cards. I also made one more, but my camera batteries died and I'm recharging them as I type. I'll share that one later.

Ink blended with Peacock Feathers and Cracked Pistachio ink. Adhered to a piece of bristol smooth cardstock by mistake. Also used Wonky Stiching die from MFT. Sending Hugs from Hero Arts Kindness stamp set

Ink blended with Spiced Marmalade and Worn Lipstick ink. Sending Hugs from Hero Arts Kindness stamp set

Colored with pencils and ink blended with Cracked Pistachio and Peacock Feathers ink

Ink blended with Spiced Marmalade and Worn Lipstick, background is Hero Arts cling stamp and Ranger Enhanced Gold Embossing Powder. Sentiment is embossed with CTMH Silver Pearl embossing powder

Ink blended with Cracked Pistachio and Peacock Feathers ink, senitment heat embossed in Ranger Liquid Platinum ep. I added a strip of washi from Michaels Recollections brand. The background is an old Hero Arts stamp heat embossed in CTMH Silver Pearl ep.

Whew! Still with me? Thank you if you made it this far! I so appreciate you stopping by! 

Hugs,

Jeanne

Needed Some Cards...

Hi there!

Well, I wish I made some cards just for fun, but unfortunately, I found myself in need of sympathy cards. My lifelong friend's father passed away. He and his wife had been married for 54 years! What a remarkable achievement. He had a good life, but is gone too soon. 

I was inspired to make this card from one made by Kay Miller

The following card might be a little bright, but I feel it still fits. I cased this one on Clips-n-Cuts 

I actually made a third one, but I neglected to take a picture of it! Darn. 

It looked a lot like this one. :)

I also made this birthday card. I saw this design somewhere, but cannot find it right now. 

My girls and I actually went to California to attend the funeral. It was the very first time my girls had been there and the first time I'd been back "home" in fifteen years. We spent a long weekend. My dad was thrilled (well, except for the reason we went). The service was lovely and a wonderful tribute to a wonderful man. 

The highlight of the trip was going to the beach. There was no way we were going to be in CA and not go to the beach. My mom took us kids every Wednesday during summer break when I was growing up. She would drive us through Topanga Canyon, for those of you who might know that route. We used to go to Santa Monica beach, but it's gotten to be such a tourist area, my brother thought it'd be more fun(less crowded) to head to Zuma beach. He was right. We did drive home on Topanga Canyon, though. :) 

And look! We saw dolphins! (I asked the lifeguard to be absolutely certain). I've never seen dolphins when at the beach. There were about 6 of them swimming along the shoreline. They'd move out of our sight line and then they came back. I was thrilled to capture them in photos. So cool!

Thanks so much for stopping by.

I truly appreciate the visit. 

I hope you are having a good day.

The Opening Ceremonies for the Olympics are tonight. Are you going to watch?

Hugs,

Jeanne

Two CAS Cards using Stamplorations Stencils

Hi Friends!

I have a couple of cards to share today. Yay! A couple of weeks ago I commented on a new to me blog called After-Hours Ink & Flowers. Oh the beautiful work that Laura Jane produces. You should check it out. Her profile picture is so sweet! I adore her hat. She wears is beautifully. Anyway, I didn't pay attention to the part of the post that talked about a giveaway, I just wanted to comment on the lovely creation. Imagine my surprise when I got a comment from my friend Carol of Just Me:c saying I needed to contact the gal at Stamplorations as I had won some blog candy! What!?! Apparently my name was selected from the comments on that particular post. Whoo hoooo! Last weekend I ordered a couple of stencils and they arrived today. Yay! Fast shipping that arrived in plenty of time for me to play. :)

I ordered a stencil (or maybe it should be called a mask) called Shower of Flowers thanks to Carol. She completely inspired me with this card. I loved the colors! Here is my take using the stencil/mask, Ripe Persimmon and Tattered Rose distress inks. The sentiment is Avery Elle Oh Happy Day and I wasn't sure where to put it. I think it works. I added, though you can't really see it in the photo, some Wink of Stella all along the inside edges of  the white spaces on the butterflies for a little bit of sparkle. Thanks so much Carol, both for the heads up and the inspiration!!

The other stencil I ordered is called Leaf Prints and I chose to ink it with Twisted Citron and Squeezed Lemonade distress inks. The sentiment is from the same Avery Elle set. I added the Pretty Pink Posh sparkling clear sequins for a touch of bling. 

I could have added more layers to the cards, but I really wanted the stencils to shine this first time using them. These were so fun to play with. I think I will have a lot of fun trying out different color schemes and backgrounds with them. 

Thanks so very much for stopping by.  I hope you are having a great day. 

Oh Happy Day...Two Cards to Share! :)

Hi!

We are having a lovely day here in my neck of the woods. I went out to start cleaning up our backyard so that the new growth can begin in earnest. Spring has just sprung over here. I made some good progress and was enjoying the fresh air and sunshine. Then I ran out of lawn bags and my girls had a Girl Scout event to attend. I ran some errands while they were gone and once all that was done, I managed to sit down and actually finish not one, but two cards. I know. I couldn't believe it either!

I had done the coloring before today, so it was just a matter of deciding how I wanted to finish them up. They are colored with my trusty Prismacolor pencils and blended with odorless mineral spirits. There's also some Wink of Stella glitter and something a little bit new. 

This is the finished card from the image I colored and shared here.

 I picked up some Perfect Pearls and dotted it on this image. I've seen this done on some blogs recently (like this card)and liked the subtle detail it adds. I need a little practice to get the touch right, but I like how it turned out. 

You really should check out that link. I recently started following Pop's blog and her coloring is fabulous. I also really like all the details she adds to her cards. 

The camera unfortunately did not pick up the lovely shimmer in the background papers I used. I picked up a pad of shimmer cardstock from Michaels. There is a new Recollections series out right now called the Sophia Collection. It's all pastels and shimmery. It looks very pretty in real life! There is also a pad of laser cuts as well with butterflies and flowers and lots of loveliness. I just haven't had a chance to play with it much. I really wanted to color first. :)

You might have also noticed the stitched edge on the one mat. Yep, I finally jumped onto the bandwagon and ordered me a set of stitched rectangles from Lawn Fawn (via Scrapbook Pal.com). And I also got Lawn Fawn's newer stamp set and dies called Gleeful Gardens and got to play with them. Below is the card I made with that super cute set. Oh and the gingham background was stamped with the newer Lawn Fawn Gingham Backgrounds set. I need some practice with that to line it up better, but I love me some gingham. In fact, the hello on my first card today is from this same set. Love that font. 

That little snail gets me. It's so flipping cute! I also remembered to try something my friend, Barb, does on her die cuts. I kept the circle in the die(taping it down with post it tape to keep it in place) and inked some distress inks on the background (Tumbled Grass and Mowed Lawn) That's how I got the white edge. Thanks for sharing that tip/technique, Barb! 

I think that does it for now. 

Thanks ever so much for stopping by. 

I hope you have a lovely weekend!

Hugs,

Jeanne

Happy Scene and Embossed Owl Card

This card by Kay just plain makes me happy. Don't really know why, but it does.

Because I keep thinking about it, I decided to recreate it, using my own supplies. Not sure if I did it justice, but I like what I came up with.

Most of the cardstock is American Crafts, but the light green is Co-ordinations. The rainbow is made using circle Nestabilities. I cut off the excess with my scissors. The sun, clouds, "stitching" and sentiment are Lawn Fawn's Hello Sunshine set and the flowers are from Blissful Botanicals. I had extras of the flowers I colored from a previous card and decided to use them here. You can't really tell from the photo, but I added some Wink of Stella clear to the sun. So that's my own little sunny scene.

Thanks again for the inspiration, Kay!

My second card was inspired by this card. I liked the owl and the woodgrain, although I opted not to make it a peek-a-boo card. 

When my dad was here, he bought me a 12 pencil set of Inktense pencils. (Thanks, Dad!) I played around with them on the owl image(from Hero Arts Lil Hoot), which is stamped on watercolor paper. I used the Hero Arts Woodgrain stamp and then embossed the background piece of kraft cardstock with a woodgrain folder (Paper Studio/Hobby Lobby). This has been sitting on my desk for a few weeks because I wasn't sure I really liked it, but I didn't know what else to do with it. I added the three black gems and decided to call it good. 

That's it from me today. I hope you've had a great weekend! Thanks so much for stopping by. 

*Ü*

Jeanne

Floral Cards and Amy's Ow

Greetings from soggy Colorado! It's been very rainy here today and the high may not have gotten much above 60 degrees. Quite interesting for the end of July. We'll take it, but I sure wish California could get some of this moisture. :( 

I wandered into my crafty space yesterday and had enough mojo to make two cards! Yippee! One I actually stamped and colored last week, but I had to fussy cut the pieces out, which I did while watching TV. I was inspired by this card on Pinterest. Actually I pretty much just cased it using some Vintage Summer paper I had. I also used Lawn Fawn's So Much to Say for the sentiment. 

I colored the images with Prismacolors and blended with odorless mineral spirits. I also used some gems from Hobby Lobby and some from Michaels (two colors of red). I added a bit of Wink of Stella to the blue tips on the ends of the stamens. 

If I didn't have something to follow, my "cluster" wouldn't look near this good. LOL

My second card was my take on this card by Kay Miller. Her work is very inspiring and always makes me smile. Thanks, Kay!

I used the same arch looking Sizzix dies she did. The floral paper is Doodlebug (Fruit Stand), the green cardstock is Co'ordinations and the yellow is Buttercup from CTMH. The stamped flowers are from Girls Rock by CTMH and are stamped in Holiday Red, Watermelon and Sunflower. The tag is a Spellbinders die using a piece of solid red Doodlebug paper. That gingham is from Hobby Lobby. I popped up the flowers and the tag. How about that? I managed to pull a card together using a lot of resources. LOL 

I have to share something Amy made recently. She has really enjoyed using her Rainbow Loom and has created many bracelets, earrings, flowers and even a cover for her tablet. Last week she created this:

Isn't it adorable? She found the video tutorial on You Tube and followed along. 

So impressed and had to share. 

That's it from me today. Hope you are having a great week!

Thanks so much for stopping by.

*Ü*

Jeanne

Valentine's Day Cards

Thank you very much for the kind words you shared about Amy's giraffe. You are very sweet and I appreciate your comments so much.

I made these cards a few weeks ago and meant to share them before now, but life got in the way. Hope you like!

This first one is from a set called Love Grows Here by Taylored Expressions. I found it at Archiver's, just before their going out of business sale started. They had a card using this image on display in the store and I loved what they did. This is my simple version. I used colored pencils and odorless mineral spirits to color the image. I added some Wink of Stella glitter pen to the hearts, but it's very subtle. The paper, tag and twine are all Doodlebug. I popped up the image and the tag with foam dots. On the original card in the store, they had sponged clouds on the background and I really wanted to do that, but I was too afraid I would mess it up, so I instead sponged distress ink on with the image in the Spellbinder's square die. One of these days though, I will get brave enough to practice sponging clouds!

This next one uses Lawn Fawn's Science of Love stamp set and dies, again purchased at Archiver's (I sure am going to miss that store. :( sniff ). I wanted to link the set to their website, but it is down as I am writing this. This link will take you to the blog post showcasing the set.  This is the card though that inspired the one I made. I put my own spin on it and am very happy with the result. 

The sentiment was stamped with some old, old Close To My Heart alphabet stamps called Sans Small Uppercase. I added some Stickles in the heart on the sentiment. Again the background paper is Doodlebug and I colored the images with colored pencils and odorless mineral spirits. 

Thanks so much for stopping by.

I hope you are keeping warm wherever you are.

It's currently 2 degrees outside right now. 

Brrrrr.

But, the sun is shining, so it's a good day.

*Ü*

Jeanne

Snowflake Cards

I saw some really nice cards showcasing snowflakes while blog reading (here and here-you will have to scroll down to find the cards I saw...the kraft one was the inside of a card) and tried my hand at creating them for myself using a Hero Arts Winter's Butterfly set

These were stamped in Versamark ink and heat embossed with white embossing powder. The blue is Ocean from CTMH. The Merry Christmas sentiment is from Sparkle and Cheer by Taylored Expressions.

There is something really appealing to me with white ink on kraft cardstock. I used CTMH's pigment white and Desert Sand ink 

We haven't seen too many snowflakes around here just yet. I know they will be coming sooner or later though.

Thanks so much for stopping by.

Hope your week is off to a great start.

On the Sunny Side Cards

On Friday we got together with our friends for our first summer playdate. While the kids played together, Becky and I had our own crafty playdate. I was able to create three cards, all using My Mind's Eye paper from the On the Sunny Side collection. I found it at Archiver's. The colors make me smile. I also used the April and May Stamps of the Month from Close To My Heart.

This card uses the April Stamp of the month and the Hello stamp from Hello Blooms. Holiday Red and Sunflower worked well with the collection. 

The stars are from the May Stamp of the Month and have been inked in Holiday Red, Sunflower and Twilight. The red paper is American Crafts brand. The blue is Twilight cardstock with the stars stamped in Twilight as well. On the white circle, I inked the stamp in Sunflower, stamped off on a scrap paper then stamped on the white cardstock. I like that it breaks up the starkness of the white a little.

I used my corner rounder again on 1 1/2 inch squares of paper. The butterflies are from Michaels.

The cards were inspired by cards found on Pinterest. 

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Birthday Cards

My oldest brother and twin brothers celebrate their birthdays this weekend. That's 3 birthday boys in two days. I was actually on the ball this year and got cards made and sent off in time! I also noticed that my last several posts have been layouts. You might be ready to see some cards. *Ü* The designs are not mine, of course, but the thoughts of my brothers while I was creating them certainly are!

 Dutch Blue Cardstock, ink, Birthday stamp set (CTMH), Green Tea Stack (DCWV) Gems, (Recollections brand, Michaels)

Kraft cardstock, woodgrain embossing folder (Paper Studio, Hobby Lobby), Green Tea Stack (brown strip and circles) {DCWV}, Gems (Recollections brand, Michaels), Happy Birthday stamp, Cocoa ink (CTMH)

I am a little annoyed with myself. I am pretty sure I saw these first two cards on Pinterest, but I didn't pin them. I just scrolled through while looking for ideas that appealed to me. Now, of course, I can't find those pins. Sorry. But I am not claiming these ideas were mine. You all know me better than that, right? 

This next card was originally created by my friend Barb, here. I just adore how Barb creates her cards. There is so much attention to detail. Plus she shares a lot of little tidbits about the techniques she uses. Anyway, I decided to mimic the card linked above.

I did vary it a bit by changing up the focal piece cut (Framelits by Sizzix, purchased at Archiver's, although sold other places as well). I colored the Meljen's cupcake image with pencils and odorless mineral spirits. (I leave the Copic coloring to the professionals, like Barb *Ü*) I added the gems (from Recollections brand at Michaels). I know I've said that a lot. There is a bigger box of these gems that they sell that have several sizes of gems in the box. That's where these tiny gems are coming from. I used a bit of a glittery pen as well at more of that Green Tea Stack (guess it's my go-to paper for guy cards). I had the same Martha Stewart border/embossing punch that Barb used. All in all, I'm pleased at the final result (although I continue to be iffy about the paper used for the strip across the card...those brown edges look strange to me, but I couldn't find anything else that would even remotely work in my opinion...It is what it is.

Thanks so much for stopping by. Enjoy your day.

Finishing Up Some Cards

My friends and I had another crafty playdate on Friday. Yay! I made a couple of cards there, but before I share those, I needed to work on finishing up the cards I started at the last crafty playdate we had. So, I sat myself down yesterday and got to work.

 Most of this card was done, but I hadn't decided on a sentiment. I ended up using one from an older Papertrey Ink set called Floral Frenzy. I was inspired by a card created by Kay Miller waaaaay back in January here. I used My Mind's Eye Notable 6x6 pad for the papers. The stamped image is Floral Frenzy as well stamped in Sunset ink (Close To My Heart). The cardstock is American Crafts and the butterfly is from a package I picked up at Michaels. Love those little wooden butterflies!

While at the last playdate, I cut those hexagons from Pebbles Family Ties 6x6 pad and put them on the circle piece. Then I tried to find a doily cut from a Cricut cartridge because I forgot to bring my doilies. I didn't get one cut that was the right size and I got tired of trying. I was inspired by this card here. Loved the quilted feel of the card. For a little textural interest I decided to use some cork that I re-discovered was in my stash. I also added a couple of stick pins from Making Memories years ago(Chloe I think was the line). The Just Because is from Papertrey Ink's Mixed Messages. The tag was also in my stash from years ago, along with the jute (sometimes it's a good thing when you hoard save stuff). I added the stitching with a white gel pen.

I was pretty dang productive that day! Yay!

Thanks so much for stopping by.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Since there is green in my cards, I'm covered in the pinch department, right?

*Ü*

  

A Couple of White on White Cards

A couple of friends and I got together this past Sunday for a crafty playdate. We were originally going to play the previous Sunday, but a pretty big snowstorm put the kibosh on that idea. The three of us haven't gotten together  in a crafty way for years as one of the gals (Hi Felicia!) just recently moved back to Colorado. And would you believe, I completely forgot to take any pictures (slaps self on the forehead), so much for having pictures for my Project Life project. Anyway, I was kind of on the ball and had a super productive time! We'll say that's why I forgot to take pics. LOL

Here are a few of the cards I was able to make. I saw the first two on Pinterest. I thought the white on white was/is really striking!

Inspiration here

 Inspiration here

I still need to stamp the sentiment on this one...oops.

Flower punches and Swiss Dots Cuttlebug embossing folder. Bling from my stash. Used foam dots to pop up the flowers.

Kind of simple, but pretty, I think.

This flower on this next card was inspired by a tutorial I saw on Pinterest here.

I just played around with this card. It could probably use a sentiment, too. The pattern paper is from Chantilly (Close To My Heart) and so is the covered button. The yellow cardstock is also from CTMH and is called Buttercup. The doily underneath is from Martha Stewart. And thanks to Becky, for letting me use her embossing folder from Paper Studio (Hobby Lobby brand)

The rounded pieces under it are Rounded Tag Framelits by Sizzix.

I actually found them at my local Archiver's store. Thanks to Kay for sharing the product with me.

Becky also let me use her flower punches. She sure was a good sport in allowing me to use a lot of her supplies so I didn't have to pack up my whole craft room to come over and play.

*Ü*

Thanks so much for stopping by. 

Hope your week is off to a great start.

Chantilly Cards

I saw a card on Pinterest...I seem to be saying that a lot lately...boy is that a place for inspiration. Anyway, I really liked it, so I made my own version of the card. It has those rounded corners again. Since I'm unsure if copying the url for the pin gives access to my account, I'll just share the link to the blog post here. Actually, I liked the idea so much I made two cards with the same idea. Click on photo to enlarge if you like.

I chose to leave off the sentiment on the second one because I liked  the white space as much as I liked it with a sentiment.

The squares were cut at 1 1/4 inches and rounded on two corners. 

I've used the newly released Chantilly paper pack from Close To My Heart as did the inspiration card.

Cardstock colors are Twilight, Pear and Buttercup

On the first card, I've added a fabric covered button and on the second a chipboard element. 

Both were embossed with a Cuttlebug embossing folder. 

Thanks so much for stopping by.

I hope you are having a lovely weekend. 

Casing a Card I Saw on Pinterest...

Before I show the card I cased (copy and steal everything), I have to ask about just how to link a project I see on Pinterest. I'm never sure. I usually click on the pin and have it take me to the blog post where the pin originates. But this completely bypasses the Pinterest site and the pin I saw. But if I copy the url for the pin itself, wouldn't that take you to my board and give you access to my account? I dunno, but it's on my mind as I start this post so I thought I'd ask and see if any Pinterest savvy folks know what I am talking about and if I am going about linking correctly. I always give credit to the post/person from where I get the inspiration, so I think I am covered. Right? (shakes head to get rid of any cobwebs)

Okay, so, as I said I saw this on Pinterest and I just loved the card and after I smacked myself on the forehead asking myself why I couldn't think of this pretty card, I got to work copying it. Well, maybe there is a small tweak or two, but mainly, it's copied.

Aren't the colors so springlike? This paper is from Pebbles, Inc and it's that new Family Ties 6x6 paper pad. I didn't have the exact butterfly, but I searched my cartridges for my Cricut and found this butterfly cut on Elegant Edges (the shadow feature). I cut the polka dot one at 2 1/4 inches and the smaller one at 1 3/4. And what I've been doing that I didn't do before, is I am using the Real Dial size. I never thought to do that before. Duh. And this time, because I wasn't sure what size I wanted the butterfly, I did some test cuts at different sizes using scrap paper. (taps forehead) Occasionally, I have flashes of being a little bit smart. Yes, I've been known to guesstimate and use the pattern paper and not get the size I want and say grrrrr.  The yellow mat is cut using Artiste and I forgot to note the size, I want to say 2 1/2 inches.  Instead of ribbon, I chose to use Heavenly Blue cardstock, cut at 1 1/2 inches wide and I used a Martha Stewart border punch on both sides of the strip to get that lace-esque look. You can't really see it in this shot, but I did bend the wings on the top butterfly up just a tad. The pearls are from my stash. I probably got them at Hobby Lobby.

In other news...I just watched a pretty good beginner video on using colored pencils and odorless mineral spirits. You can see it here. Fair warning, it's pretty long, so watch when you have some time, or just watch the supplies portion. I liked it because she gives a good lesson on products to use to color with pencils and odorless mineral spirits. I haven't watched her videos before and I have to say I liked her common sense approach to his technique. You can find the supplies pretty much at Michaels or Hobby Lobby. I personally use Walmart's Georgia Pacific white cardstock with no problems at all. 

Okay, that's it from me for now. Thanks for stopping by. Hope you have a great day!

Valentine’s Day Cards

I recently acquired the Close To My Heart promotional kit, Whooo’s Your Valentine and had some time today to play with it. Or rather, to play with the stamp set that comes with the kit. Thought I’d share what I came up with. Hope you like! The first two cards I’m sharing were inspired by cards I saw on Pinterest.

 Here’s the card I saw that led me to create this first card. It’s the third card as you scroll down the blog post. What I really liked on this card was the embossed lines. I have to be honest and let you know that it took me a couple of tries to get the lines embossed because I kept going too fast and my bone folder would jump the track. I added a heart gem that I had in my stash. I thought about adding a bow to the top ribbon piece, but I kind of liked it left alone. I cut the heart using the Artiste cartridge Real Size at 1 1/4 inches.

This card is pretty much a case of this card using the hearts from the CTMH kit. I liked using the Cuttlebug heart embossing folder, which I’ve had for years, but haven’t really used. LOL I liked the look of kraft and Blush. The images are stamped with Hollyhock ink and hand cut (maybe what they call “fussy” cut?). I used a Fiskars border punch for the scallops.

This next card is the result of my playing around a bit after seeing this card in my Reader. I really like the end result and wish I could get a better photo of it. If I don’t use flash when my camera says to, my images end up really blurry. Unfortunately, the ribbon is satin and kept catching the flash. I think you get the idea, though.

I’ve got a neat woodgrain embossing folder that I picked up at Hobby Lobby. It’s their Paper Studio brand. When I saw the card I linked above,  I decided to play with inking up this embossed piece of Kraft. I used some Brown Bag, Chocolate and Cocoa ink from CTMH. I then played with it being a sort of monochromatic look and while the ink looks a lot darker, the images are inked with Cocoa. Like I said, I am really happy with how this card came out. I think it’d be a nice masculine and non traditional Valentine’s card.

Well, that’s it from me for today. Thanks so much for stopping by! Til next time…