Rainbow of Butterflies

Today I have a super fun card that was inspired by the challenge at the Global Design Project.



I love this card with all the color and the inspiration from the Design Team was amazing!  I planned on making a card with the Butterfly Duet Punch and this challenge gave me the perfect idea!



I have always loved the cards and framed art with punched out butterflies as the focal point.  So I sat down with a rainbow of colors and punched out bunches of tiny butterflies.  After arranging them in many ways, this is the design I ultimately chose.  My colors are Melon Mambo, Flirty Flamingo, Pool Party, Bermuda Bay, Highland Heather and Gorgeous Grape.



Each butterfly was given dimension by using the stylus on the Take Your Pick Tool.  You can see below that I placed the punch out on my Stampin' Pierce Mat and just ran the stylus down the center of the butterfly.



All the butterflies were arranged on the card front then adhered with Tombow Multi purpose glue.  I only put glue down the center so the wings can still stand out a bit.

The sentiment was included in the rainbow and blends beautifully.  I used a couple of dies from the Well Written Framelits.  I am so very glad I got this Well Said Bundle because it is so very useful!!!



You can see more about the challenge GDP#176 on the Global Design Blog.  Hope you enjoyed the rainbow of fun today!

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Flowering Desert Sunset

Ok...I made it through a few blog posts without sharing a Flowering Desert card.  So, today I created a birthday card for a family member that I want to share.



A went with a watercolor background to create a sunset.  Same as before, I used my aqua painter and ink pads.  The colors from top to bottom are Poppy Parade, Mango Melody and Soft Suede.  I stamped plants in the background then made a focal point out of the larger cactus.  To create that, I stamped the cactus with Granny Apple Green and added shading with a sponge dauber.



Around the edges I added Shaded Spruce to give depth.  It was stamped on Whisper White for a crisper image then fussy cut.  Dimensionals on the back made it stand out nicely.

As for the sentiment, I used words from Well Said heat embossed in black.  These stamps are cling stamps so I used the tip I showed you in a previous blog post about using washi tape.  You can go HERE to check it out.



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Incredible Like You

I was in water color mode again today and this time I used Incredible Like You for my card.



Aren't these colors so serene?!  My color palette consists of Grapefruit Grove, Pool Party, and Pear Pizzaz.  The softness of all the colors just makes this card so perfect for a watercolor!



First step was to heat emboss the stripes in white on the watercolor paper.  From there I added color with an aqua painter and Pool Party ink pad.  Some areas came out darker which I really like.



The flowers are watercolor as well and fussy cut.  Each was stamped with Grapefruit Grove then softened with the aqua painter.  They are layered under and over the sentiment that is heat embossed on watercolor paper as well.



Final touches are always important.  Pear Pizzaz leaves came from the Eclectic Layers Thinlits in the main catalog.  I trimmed them down so they would neatly tuck under the flowers.  A couple of cute little wooden element butterflies add extra dimension and were FREE!  They came from the Butterfly Elements in the Sale-a-bration catalog that you get FREE with $50 product purchase.  Finally, a couple of sequins and a pretty envelope complete the look.

I have another example of watercolor with a new set from the Occasions catalog HERE if you'd like to see a couple of tips for watercolor.

You can shop any time for Incredible Like You and the other products featured today by clicking on product links above or my shop link below.  Thanks for stopping by!

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A Simple Shaker Card

I used to make shaker cards ALL.THE.TIME.  It's been FOREVER since I've made one, so today was the day!  I was inspired by challenge GDP174 from the Global Design Project for this week.



This image immediately brought a shaker to mind, Ionly had to figure out what stamp set to use.  Since I just made a card with Butterfly Gala Bundle, I had supplies out on my desk for that bundle so I went with it!



I have been dying to give the new Rectangle Stitched Framelits a try, so that became the base of my design.  I chose to do a flat shaker to keep it easier.  The card is simply a Granny Apple Green card base with a layer of the same color card stock and a designer paper as the top layer.  I would have used designer paper by itself, but with a shaker you want a sturdier cover.  The paper comes from the gorgeous FREE Botanical Butterfly Designer Series Paper from the Sale-a-bration Catalog.

I cut the center of the shaker frame with a stitched rectangle, then created a frame to go over top with two dies cut at the same time.



As you can see, you just set them evenly on the Big Shot to cut out a perfect frame.



The shaker portion is just Iridescent Sequins inside a small bag.  I taped the bag to the back of the front layer of card before attaching it to the card base.  Use Tear & Tape adhesive for a firm hold.  More info about how to make shaker cards of all styles can be found HERE.



For the final touches, I added a strip of Pineapple Punch card stock with the sentiment.  I added a small butterfly that was stamped with Memento Black Ink and colored with Daffodil Delight and Granny Apple Green Stampin' Blends.  I originally thought I would use both the large and small butterflies that I stamped and punched out, but the small by itself was all the card needed.  Over all, I am super pleased with how today's shaker card turned out!

A big thanks to the Global Design Project team for the inspiration!!

For supplies to make your own shaker card, click on the link below to visit my online store.  During Sale-a-bration you earn FREE products for every $50 you spend!  A great time to shop and be creative!!

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Butterflies Galore

It's the time of year when we start looking forward to spring, especially those of us in the frigid cold areas of the country.  In Ohio we are experiencing the polar freeze and have wild chill temps around -25!  So to get away from the cold I stamped a beautiful butterfly card with the gorgeous new Butterfly Gala stamp set.



For color inspiration, I looked to the Sale-a-bration catalog.  The Designer Series Paper Botanical Butterfly is full of beautiful colors.  The blues and purple stood out so Highland Heather and Balmy Blue became my color palette.



The stamp used for this card has a small butterfly over a larger butterfly.  I created a pattern by stamping the butterflies in rows.  All of the small butterflies are colored with Highland Heather Stampin' Blends and the larger are done with Balmy Blue.  The lighter of each color is in the center with darker shading around the edges.

With all that was going on in the background, I needed something to make my sentiment stand out.  A Stitched Circle of Highland Heather creates a base for the Butterfly Element to sit upon.  I love these wooden elements from the Sale-a-bration catalog.  They add extra dimension and interest to a project.  And even better....they are FREE with $50 product purchase!!  So now I have a place for my sentiment to go and stand out!  The sentiment came from a favorite stamp set of mine, Flowering Desert.  It's heat embossed in white on Basic Black card stock to stand out from all the purple and blue.



I added a stamped envelope to make the look complete!  I know that I will be doing lots more with stamp set in the future, so fun to work with!!  If you'd like to make this card and need supplies, you can visit my online store and shop with me any time!  Just click on the link below!

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Watercolor Cactus

If  you look at my recent posts, you may notice that I am really into the new Flowering Desert stamp set.  Today's idea is a little different.  I went with water color using an aqua painter and ink pads.



I love the water color effect.  It's soft and has beautiful color variations.  I achieved this look very easily with just a few steps.



I stamped the cactus with Lemon Lime Twist on water color paper.  Using the aqua painter, I went over the original image to get the initial water color look.  Then with Granny Apple Green I added in more color gradually shading from the left to right.  In areas that I wanted a darker bit of color, I waited until the area was dry then layered on more.



Once I had the color the way I wanted it, I used my Light Shaded Spruce Stampin' Blend marker and added detail.



I added in a pop of color with Lovely Lipstick flowers on the cactus and a smaller plant in Shaded Spruce.  Last detail of the watercolor is a bit of sand using Soft Suede.  I wasn't quite sure what I wanted to use this card for, so the sentiment leaves it open for many things.  I used "Just a note..." from Home to Roost which you can get for FREE with a $50 product purchase!



Have you tried water color??  Give it a try if you haven't!  It makes you feel like you are creating a painting!  I hope you are feeling inspired to try it out!  I have more ideas for Flowering Desert HERE and HERE to check out.  To shop for new spring products and earn FREE items, click on the shop link below.

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Lovely Anniversary

My In Laws have an big deal anniversary coming up so I sat down today and created a card for them using Forever Lovely.



I wanted a little bit of everything from the All My Love Suite on this card.  The All My Love Designer Series Paper comes in a strip of color along the left side.  I also added in a tiny bit of bling with the white glimmer paper from the Magic & Myths Glimmer paper on the clearance rack.



The sentiment is so gorgeous in Lovely Lipstick.  Lately this has most definitely become one of my favorite and most used inks.  The die cuts from the Lovely Flowers Edgelits Dies add more color and dimension.  I love how beautiful all the products melt together and create an amazing look.  Did you notice the bit of sentiment cut out on Flirty Flamingo card stock?  This is from the Well Said Bundle on page 27.  Since this is an anniversary card, I wanted to change up the original sentiment to include the word anniversary.  Well Said is just the set and I must say that this bundle is a must have!!!



I did embellish the inside of the card.  As I said earlier, this is a pretty big deal, it's a 60th anniversary!  So I pulled out a retired set, Milestone Moments to add in the sentiment for the inside.

I hope you enjoyed my card today and are inspired to do some creating yourself!  You can shop any time in my online store for products to create cards of your own.  And right now with Sale-a-bration going on, you can earn FREE products!  For every $50 you get something free or you can get a bigger FREE product with $100 purchase.  Now is a great time to get some goodies, just click on the shopping link below!

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Be Your Own Kind of Beautiful

I've been using the new FLOWERING DESERT stamp set from Stampin' Up! all weekend.  It's a bit of an escape from the 9 inches of snow we have gotten in just a little over 24 hours.  I love the refreshing sight of green instead of nothing but white!



I wanted the main cactus to "pop" so I did a very subtle background of Soft Sea Foam cactus in the background. Stamping off once gave the exact look I was going for.  You can see them, but very lightly.



The focal point cactus is stamped in Granny Apple Green on a layering of a die cut stitched square and Granny Apple Green card stock.  To make the sentiment stand out, I embossed white on black and layered it over top of the focal point.



Quick and easy card to bring warmth to a cold day!  I love bringing a bit of the desert to Ohio in the middle of winter.

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Flowering Desert

It's my favorite time of year, Sale-a-bration is here!  Along with Sale-a-bration is a brand new Occasions Catalog full of goodness!  One of the first sets in the new catalog to catch my eye was Flowering Desert.  I am a big fan of anything cactus so obviously this set appealed to me immediately!!  I have a couple of sample to share so today we'll start with this simple one.



Lots of crisp, clean white lets the beautiful green cactus take center stage.  I used two very different shades of green to give each cactus it's own distinct look.  The tall cactus on the left is Shaded Spruce and the one on the right is Granny Apple Green.  Both of these colors are perfect for cactus!



I added a bit of color with the cactus flowers and the sentiment.  Lovely Lipstick adds a brightness to the card that gives the finishing touch.  The die cut of "thanks" comes from a fantastic new bundle called Well Said.  This bundle is a MUST HAVE!  It has tons of sentiments and die cuts to coordinate.  There will be endless use!  One tip though with these die cuts, you want to get adhesive sheets to make it easy as pie to add the sentiments to your projects.



Check out all the new goodies in the catalogs by clicking the links on the right sidebar.  I know you will find lots to love!  As a bonus it's Sale-a-bration right now so for every $50 you get a FREE item!  And if you choose, there is a bigger freebie that you can get with a $100 purchase.  I have more to share tomorrow so check back for a new idea for Flowering Cactus!

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