A little bit of latticework

 

Hello! It looks and feels like spring here, and that makes me happy. I hope this card makes you feel happy.

Those of you who follow the Butterfly Challenge know that Mrs A. posts tutorials on a range of different folds and techniques. Her current challenge centers around the letter L, with a tutorial on amazing technique called a Lantern card. I can't wait to see what people make.

However, it looked a little very involved and time-consuming for my current circumstances, so I took an easier option in making this card. It incorporates other L elements -- lattice, lilac, lemon and lawn green (the last three as colors). 

The butterfly is a Sizzix die, and I don't know who makes the others. The sentiment, which is white-embossed, is from The Alley Way stamps.

Oh, and Stamplorations has a Things with Wings blog hop and linky party going on, and this works perfectly for that too. 

This card is for these challenges:

The Butterfly Challenge #155 -- Lattice theme and one (or more) colors

Simon Says Stamp Monday -- layer it

Word Art Wednesday #485 -- anything goes

Stamplorations Things with Wings challenge -- thing with wings

Crafts Galore Encore #86 -- anything goes

Catch the Bug Challenge -- anything goes

Happy Little Stampers -- anything with dies

Elfish (elvish?) fun

I have another Christmas card for you today, using the sketch from Bugaboo's Stella Says Sketch Challenge. The card uses a pre-colored digi of a happy elf from The Paper Shelter, matted on a small piece of pink card stock, with a snowflake patterned panel. The sentiment is in a dark brown ink, and I used small sequins for the corner detail. 

 

This card is entered in these challenges:

 Stella says sketch #905 -- sketch

ABC Christmas -- E is for Elf

The Paper Shelter #460 -- use a digi image

Craftyhazelnut's Christmas Challenge #532 -- anything Christmas

Craftyhazelnut's Patterned Paper Challenge -- use patterned paper

Christmas Crafts All Year --  starts with E

Pammie's Inky Pinkies #2110-- anything goes

CRAFT #589 -- anything goes

Word Art Wednesday #481 -- anything goes

Catch the Bug -- anything goes

Crafty Sentiments - -- anything goes

Pattie's Creations #180 -- anything goes

 

Joy fold poppies

 

The current  Butterfly Challenge is brought to us by the letter J, for joy fold card. I haven't made one of these in a while and it was fun to do again. It's a really easy fun fold That I just forget about sometimes. (Does anyone know why it's called a joy fold?  Please leave a comment and let me know!)  If you need instructions, Mrs. A the butterfly queen has them here.  These cards do tend to flap open. Mrs. A uses a belly band to keep them closed. The top butterfly in the corner on my is on a pop dot and acts as little latch to keep the smaller card open. (If you've never seen a joyfold card, the top, smaller card opens from the left )

That's a digi image, colored in pencils. I was going for light burgundy (aka Japanese carmine) for the flowers. I believe the larger butterfly (from a Spellbinder's set I just picked up on mega clearance) qualifies as jasmine, or a very pale yellow.

This card is entered in these challenges:

Butterfly #103. (level 2, using the joy fold theme, butterflies, at the colors of Jasmine and Japanese carmine)

Simon Says Stamp Wednesday -- beautiful blooms

Catch the Bug -- anything goes

Pammie's Inky Pinkies #2110 -- anything goes

Word Art Wednesday #481  -- anything goes

Crafts Galore Encore #85 for March -- anything goes

Craftyhazelnut's Patterned Paper Challenge -- use patterned paper

Butterflies and brick

 

Look at that , two posts in two days. Just like old times. (I've had a slight lull in work, but I don't expect it to last long.)

This card features an awesome butterfly die-cut  that someone gifted me with.  It was cut from white cardstock, and I colored it with what I've heard called the Smoosh-spritz-drag technique -- smoosh Distress inks on a non-absorbent surface, spritz with water, and drag the paper through it. First I used a couple blue Distress inks, and followed with a blue distress oxide ink. The main panel is a piece of ivory cardstock on which I inked brick shapes using a Stamplorations stencil. The sentiment is from Stampin Up.

This card was inspried for the Butterfly Challenge. Mrs. A's shape/technique this time is what she calls an inside out card (definitely check it out here) but I didn't have a really good long die cut to use, so I when with a straight card this time.

This card is entered in these challenges 

Butterfly Challenge #152 -- (Category 2: Inking theme and ivory/iceberg colors)

Word Art Wednesday #479 -- anything goes 

Pammie's Inky Pinkies #2108 -- anything goes 

The Paper Shelter #458 -- CAS

Crafty Sentiment -- anything goes 

Simon Says Stamp Wednesday -- anything goes

Christmas carolers

 

I have a CAS Christmas card for you today. I created this little scene through the magic of masking. The carolers are from The Artful Stamper and the trees are from a Whimsy Stamps set. I stamped the carolers first, made a mask to cover them, then added the trees in a couple different colors of green. The sentiment is from Stamplorations.  I wanted to keep this clean and simple, so I simply used a bright red snippet to one side for a serious pop of color.

This card is entered in these challenges:

ABC Christmas -- C is for Christmas

Rudolph Days -- anything Christmas

Craftyhazelnut's Christmas Challenged #530 -- anything Christmas

Simon Says Stamp Wednesday -- anything goes

The Paper Shelter #458 -- CAS

Crafty Sentiments -- anything goes

Pammie's Inky Pinkies #2108  -- anything goes

Word Art Wednesday #479 -- anything goes

I could make one if I wanted to

       And when I say "I could make one if I wanted to" I mean a snowman, not a card featuring a snowman. Like most of the country, we have a ton of snow just outside our door right now. But I'd rather stay inside and make a card, thank you very much.

       This card features a stamp set I got recently from Stamplorations, and I used the Bugaboo Stella sketch for this week. It's a CAS design, with the snowman and sentiment on the same white snippet, with another snippet with a line of snowmen separating the image from the sentiment. (That snowman paper is from a 6x6 pad, and since I usually make A-2 cards, there's typically a strip about that size left over.) Up in the right corner there's a plastic snowflake.

        Hope you are staying warm and dry (unless, of course, you want to make a snowman).

                

This card is for these challenges:

Bugaboo/Stella Says Sketch #904 -- use sketch

Craftyhazelnut's Christmas Challenge #529 -- use green

CRAFT #587 -- anything Christmas

The Holly and the Ivy #88 -- anything Christmas

Craftyhazelnut's Patterned Paper Challenge -- use patterned paper

Word Art Wednesday #479-- anything goes

Stamplorations Never-ending challenge - use Stamploration productions

Crafty Sentiments -- anything goes

Pammie's Inky Pinkies #2107 -- anything goes

Subdued Herringbone

 Mrs. A's Butterfly Challenge has presented me with another interesting technique to try. The theme this time is Herringbone, and she presented 3 ways to do a herringbone pattern, all different from the way I learned.. I tried the one she called the quilter's version, probably because it calls for several squares of patterned paper to start.

I cut up a couple snippets of coordinating papers, one dark and one light.  I used less of the dark paper after trying a couple arrangements. For embellishment I added twine and a butterfly (cut from yet another snippet of coordinating paper).  If I decide to add a sentiment, it can go in the lower left corner.

This card is for these challenges:

Butterfly Challenge #151 (butterfly, twine, herringbone and Hansa yellow)

Pixie's Snippet Playground #395 -- use snippets

Crafts Galore #84 -- anything goes

Craftyhazelnut's Patterned Paper Challenge -- use patterned papers

Word Art Wednesday #475 -- anything goes

Simon Says Stamp, Wednesday Challenge -- anything goes

Pammie's Inky Pinkies #2105 -- anything goes