Stencil CASE

Stencils are all the rage, so I tried my hand at it, inspired by Laura Bassen's card at STAMPlorations, which is using it for a CASE challenge.  Since I don't have any colored paste, I used good old inks (SU yellow, coral, mint and rose) to try to mimic her pastels, although mine ended up a little bolder. 

I added a sentiment in mint and some dots on the butterfly die-cut to tie in into everything else.

I'm entering these challenges:
Butterfly Challenge #45 -- Butterflies + X is for Xanthine (a fancy word for yellow)
Stamplorations -- January CASE challenge
Simon Says Monday Challenge -- stencil it
Word Art Wednesday #217-- Anything Goes

Simple Sympathy

I sent out a sympathy card and made a note to myself to make another to have on hand. Sadly, before I got that done, I found a need for one.
This is what I came up with: It follows the Stamplorations sketch for October, and the butterfly is a Stamplorations stamp. The butterflies are white-embossed on three different shades of blue from a paint swatch card.
The sentiment is from All Night Media, with a little piercing detail added.

 I'm entering these challenges:


Butterfly Challenge #40 -- embossing
STAMPlorations -- October sketch
Just Us Girls #313-- sympathy
Word Art Wednesday #204 -- anything goes
Crafty Sentiments -- anything goes
Papertake Weekly -- anything goes.

Fun with washi tape

The Butterfly Challenge this go-round is to use washi tape (and a butterfly, of course). To make this, I put a bunch of washi strips down (in rainbow order), die cut a circle, then die cut the butterfly out of that. I mounted it on white paper, then added the other elements.  My first plan was to use the butterfly I cut out , but it was too big and busy, so I used a smaller butterfly and covered it with purple glitter.

The layout for this is the current Sketch Saturday, #372.

The large butterfly is a Simon Says die, the smaller is actually from a punch. The sentiment (white empossed) is from an old Stampin Up set.

I'm entering these challenges:
Butterfly Challenge #36 -- washi tape
Sketch Saturday #372
Clear it Out -- anything goes (clearing out some glitter and washi tape)
World Art Wednesday #194 -- anything goes.

Going in circles

I made this card inspired for the photo inspiration for the Give a Crafter a Cookie Challenge.
The image is from Faerie Song, black embossed on a purple circle.  I added a few doodles with white gel pen and embellished with with a skeleton leaf, flowers, bow and a butterfly charm.  There is a brad hidden under the ribbon that allows you to swing the bottom and top layers of the card open.

this card is for these challenges:
Give a Crafter a Cookie #23 -- photo inspiration
Papertake Weekly -- No square cards
Clear It Out -- purple
The Paper Shelter #212-- use circles
Butterfly Challenge #35 -- use a talisman (charm)
Simon Says Stamp Wednesday -- shape card
Simon Says Stamp Monday --anything goes
Word Art Wednesday #192 -- anything goes

Butterfly shaker card

I tried another shaker card for Butterfly Challenge #32, which requires us to use sequins.  The butterfly opening does not really allow the sequins to shake very much, but there is some movement. (It's only the third shaker card I've made, so I'm still learning.)
I recently found the "hi" die in a stack of second-hand dies I had purchased and never used. It seemed the perfect size to fill what was a lot of empty space there. (And word dies are so trendy now; this one is an old Sizzix from before words were cool, I think.)

This card is for these challenges:
Butterfly Challenge #32 -- butterfly and sequins
Inky Impressions #213-- something in the air
Craftyhazelnut's Patterned paper challenge -- use patterned paper (to cover card base)
Word Art Wednesday #187 -- anything goes

Musical butterflies

from Stamplorations blog

I combined the theme of the current Butterfly challenge, butterflies with musical notes, and combined it with one of the inspiration cards at Stamplorations CASE challenge to create this card.  Instead of using a whole rainbow of colors, I stuck to warm colors.

The musical score stamp is from Club Stamp, the sentiment from Stamplorations, and the butterfly die from Simon Says Stamp.

The current challenge at Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge blog is "in the middle," in any way you wanted to interpret the theme. I stamped right across the middle.

This card is for these challenges:

Butterfly Challenge #28 -- musical notes
Stamplorations CASE (from inspiration projects #11, Cornelia's fab card)
Simon Says Monday -- stuck in the Middle
Clear it Out -- use yellow stash (paper and jewels)
Word Art Wednesday #178 -- anything goes

Green Butterfly

Saw my first butterfly of the season yesterday. No, it was not green. 

However, lots of challenges asking for green in recognition of St. Patrick's Day (I assume), so I made a monochromatic green card, but the shades are not your typical shamrock green. I took the colors from the harlequin patterned paper I used. There's a brownish moss green (or that's the name of the ink I used which turned out to be a good match), a grassy green, and a minty green.  

The sentiment (pretty sure that's Impression-Obsession) is clear embossed; the circle and strip are pierced. The butterfly topper (which might look bluish in the photo but is quite green and yellow in real life) is from Kanban.

I am entering the following challenges:

Loves Rubberstamps #142: 3 shades of Green

Butterfly Challenge #26 -- patterned paper

Simon Says Stamp Wednesday: things that fly

Ribbon Girl: Green

CAS on Sunday: #54 sketch

CHCN patterned paper challenge -- March

 

So, more faux sewing

A couple of years ago, I bought a used sewing machine at a neighbor's moving sale specifically to use on cards. I hardly ever remember to use it, and when I do, I end up getting frustrated because there's either something wrong with the machine or with me. I can spend an hour fixing and inserting bobbin and making sure it's threaded right, and the tension still gets messed up. It happened again when Ii tried to sew on this card.  I finally gave up and just did faux stitching. (I really don't think my neighbor intentionally sold a nonworking machine, adding to the frustration.)

The butterflies are made with snippets of ribbon tied with thread or wire (I made one of each). A little whimsical, sure, but kind of fun.  I do love this sentiment from Rubbernecker -- it's framed with Spellbinder's Lattice Rectangles die and sponged with distress ink.

The cream and ivory pieces are all snippets.

I'm entering these challenges:
Butterfly Challenge #24 -- butterfly with ribbons
Crafting for all Seasons #96 -- dies or punches
Sketch Saturday -- sketch #348
the Ribbon Girl -- Ivory and cream
Simon Says Stamp Wednesday -- add a little texture (embossing)
Pixie's Snippet Playground #164 -- use snippets
Word Art Wednesday #171 -- anything goes

A quick thank you

I love it when a card comes together without any drama (nothing gets lost or misplaced, everything fits as intended, colors don't clash ....).  This one was one of those.  I used the sketch from SCS and when with a bold background paper and a coordinating "unbold" paper to stamp my image on.  The image is from Inkadinkadoo, stamped in Memento black. I applied tiny black pearls in the center of the flowers and on the butterfly as a simple embellishment.

The image is mounted on black paper with a punched border. Sentiment is an old one from Stampin Up.

I would like to enter these challenges:
Butterfly Challenge #21 -- thank you with butterfly
Papertake Weekly -- Thank you optional
Word Art Wednesday #165 -- anything goes
Clear it Out -- Anything Goes
Loves Rubberstamps #133 -- anything goes
CHCN Patterned Paper Challenges -- anything with printed paper

Paper-pieced butterflies

Since I won the Butterfly Challenge a few weeks ago (thanks to Ms. Random.org), Mrs. A asked me to guest design for the Butterfly Challenge #19 that starts today. The challenge is "paper-pieced butterfly." Here's the funny part -- I love paper-piecing, and I have my fair share of butterfly images, yet none of them really lend themselves to paper-piecing.  I finally decided to work with an Inkadinkadoo image of a flock of butterflies, and try piecing a few of them -- the ones that had the more open patterns on them.
The butterflies are stamped in Navy, and the printed paper is from Lime Rickey by Basic Gray.  Once I'd cut the oval, there was a partial butterfly at the top, which I chose to cover with a punched butterfly.  (I put a solid orange butterfly behind the print/punched one so it didn't blend into the background.)  I also used the old trick of running the edges of the paper along an orange ink pad to get a little line of color there.

I'm entering this card in these challenges:
Loves Rubberstamps #127 -- Things with Wings
Papertake Weekly -- Soooooo Girly
Clear It Out -- anything Goes
Word Art Wednesday #159-- anything Goes
Sister Act #83 -- anything Goes
CHNC patterned paper challenge, November -- patterned paper.

Girly birthday

I don't usually make really "girly cards" but this one fits the description.
Mrs. A's Butterfly Challenge challenged us to use three different patterned papers on one card, and that was the start of this. I actually used four different patterns. I used a pack of papers from My Mind's Eye (The Sweetest Thing) that is very feminine, so I decided the embrace the girly thing.
The layout of the card is based on one I saw on some blog -- I thought I'd pinned it, but it wasn't on my board, so I had to go from memory. The doily was cut in half and sponged with a color called Papaya.  I made banners out of a few snippets and pierced them around the edges, then covered all the top ends with an interesting bit of fiber. The butterfly is cut from a die from Simon Says Stamp (and my trusty Cuttlebug), and it's also edged in Papaya.  I added three rosettes to make it really girly, and a sentiment from Endless Creations.

I'm entering these challenges:
Butterfly #18 -- three patterned papers
Cuttlebug Mania -- You go girl (Girly)
Crafting for All Seasons #90 -- Birthday
Clear It Out -- use three of something (roses)
Inky Impressions # 185 -- animals (butterfly)
Word Art Wednesday #158 -- Anything Goes
Craftyhazelnut's Patterned Paper Challenge -- use patterned paper

Vintage feel

I used some vintage-y looking prints on this card. I can almost imagine them on an old quilt.
The card features a tag with a quote from Eleanor Roosevelt.  It is embellished with piercing around the edges, lace, and a couple punched butterflies. The butterflies are each accented with some tiny pearls.

I'm entering this card in these challenges:
Butterfly Challenge #16, use a tag and butterfly
The Paper Shelter #177, shabby chic
Craftyhazelnut's Patterned Paper Challenge, October

Dragonfly dance

Mrs. A, owner of The Butterfly Challenge, asked us to bring other winged creatures this time around for an Ugly Bug Ball.  Since I have several dragonfly stamps (remember were dragonflies were everywhere?) I decided to bring them.
The dragonflies (Inkadinkadoo) are silver-embossed on black paper, and matted on a white panel. Behind that panel is a piece of polished stone, which is actually a snippet that's been sitting around since who knows when. It's made with various Ranger alcohol inks, and some silver mixative. (It fits the make your own challenge at Simon Says).  
I sponged some Bliss Blue on white prima flowers and pierced around the lower right edge of the main panel.
I would like to enter the card in these challenges:
Butterfly #14, bugs with wings
Simon Says Stamp Wednesday, make your own background paper (polished stone)
Simon Says Stamp Monday, Stamptember
The Paper Shelter #173, embossing of any kind
Pixie's Snippet Playground #141 (everything is a snippet, including the polished stone, black and white)
Word Art Wednesday #149, anything goes
Creative Inspiration #280, Anything Goes

Boldly to go

       Miss Carter, who taught 11th grade honors English when I was in high school, was a stickler for grammar. The Star Trek motto, she said, should not be "to boldly go where no human has gone" but "boldly to go ...." so as to avoid the split infinitive. I distinctly remember making a sarcastic comment that "boldly to go" sounded like a deli order.
       So, today I went boldly, encouraged by the Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge to "be bold".  For me, combining a ton of orange and yellow is pretty bold.
       The sketch is Sketch Saturday sketch 232, which I pulled out for their current challenge to pick a previous sketch. (I substituted an oval for the circle but otherwise followed pretty closely.)
       The butterfly (Stamps on Fire), is black embossed, and I used an out-of-the-box cut on the wings before cutting the oval. The ovals are up on pop dots.
        The sentiment is from CTMH and stamped with Memento black ink.
        The yellow card stock is embossed with a Sizzix folder run thru the trusty Cuttlebug, and the swirly pattern sort of has a similar feel to the print on the orange paper.  A few gel dots finish the card.
I'd like to enter these challenges:
Sketch Saturday #325
Butterfly Chalenge #13, butterfly and sentiment
Cuttlebug Mania, Anything embossed
Simon Says Stamp Monday, Be Bold
Simon Says Stamp Wednesday, Use a Stamp
Word Art Wednesday #148, Anything Goes
Loves Rubberstamps #119, Anything Goes

A little more summer

It's the first day of August. After all these years, I still can't get used to the idea that school starts next week. Call me old-fashioned, but Labor Day will always seem like the natural start of the school year.

Here's a sweet summery image for you.  I have no clue who makes this image -- I got it as an RAK. It was stamped on watercolor paper with Stazon, and I was happy to find my pencils and OMS worked on it; otherwise I was going to have to paint it with reinkers and I wasn't sure how that would go.

The sketch is from this week's Papertake Challenge, although I turned it upside down, because that darker strip just made the card look too top-heavy when it was on top. The image actually had little butterflies drawn in, but they got lost when I cut the image into an oval, so I added a few punched butterflies as the element along the edge. I edged the wings with a little ink so they'd show up against the yellow background. (The papers are all from a Stampin Up pack.)

There is a layer of yellow-edged lace under the ribbon, which makes this card quite girly and adds a little needed width to the ribbon.

I'm entering this card in these challenges:
Die Cut Divas August Challenge, Hot August Nights
Clear it Out, Yellow (yellow stash is paper and lace)
Butterfly Challenge #12, Summer
Papertake Weekly #92, Sketch 92
Word Art Wednesday #143, Anything Goes
Simon Says Wednesday, Anything Goes
Sister Act #68,  Anything Goes

One-layer wonder

I am in awe of people who make fantastic one-layer cards. I've finally realized that masking is the technique that works for me on a one-layer, so that's what I did here. Since I knew what I wanted to do, I knocked this out in a few minutes, but I think it looks nice.

 I simply cut a oval in a piece of card stock, placed it over my card and sponged with Blue Bliss. I kept the mask in place while I stamped the butterflies (From Inkadinakdoo) in Night of Navy. Sentiment is by All Night Media. (Thankfully, I have no current need for a sympathy card, but I know it's good to have one on hand).

This card is being entered in these challenges:

Butterfly Challenge #10 -- just one layer
CAS on Sunday #37 -- One Layer wonder
Word Art Wednesday #140 -- Anything Goes

Black and yellow

Black/white/yellow is a good color combo that isn't used nearly as much as black/white/red.  Here's a birthday card I made with that color combo.

The daisies (from the Stampin' up set that absolutely everyone has or had) are stamped with Cadmium Yellow chalk ink on  yellow/white dotted paper, just to add a little more interest to the image.  The sentiment is from the same set. The layout is Sketch Saturday's current sketch.

The filigree butterfly die is from Simon Says, and I used a leftover snippet of some black/white dp for it.

I would like to enter the card in these challenges:

Sketch Saturday #311
Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge: Botanical
Butterfly Challenge #8: Bingo -- die cut/butterfly/dp
Creative Inspirations #266: Birthday
Word Art Wednesday #133: Anything Goes
Sister Act #58: Anything Goes

More from the stash

Decided to make a tall, skinny card for a change.  Somehow, I got in the habit of making the front of cards this size a little narrow and including an element that extends over the visible inside of the card. In this instance, I used a piece of acetate that has a rather bold black flower on it. I came across this in my stash and thought it would be fun to play with. The circular areas on the flower are transparent, and since the center is rather large, I added a button and bow there. I used the MFT button die to make buttons from matching paper.

(Photographing acetate is a challenge because it reflects light so much.)

This card is for the following challenges:

Simon Says Monday: Transparent Layers
Butterfly Challenge #4: Springtime at last (yellow and a butterfly)
Crafty Ribbons #82: Ribbon and Buttons
Sister Act #50: Anything Goes
Word Art Wednesday #125: Anything Goes