More Daisies & Rockin' Butterflies!

I am really hoping that Upsy Daisy does not become the new Heartfelt Thanks! Remember when Heartfelt Thanks came out and we all loved it SOOOO much that we practically loved it to DEATH??? It kinda wore out its welcome in a hurry. (Don't get me wrong, I actually LOVE HF Thanks, and have been using it with much more frequency lately!) This is an amazing set, though, and I just love those silhouetted flowers.

I went back to one of my old favorites - a "Z" fold card. These look super cool! Basically, whether your card is horizontal or vertical, you take the right front edge and fold it all the way back to the left front (folded) edge. Simple enough! I love how it looks every time!

AND . . . to those of you who have participated in my "Follow the Butterflies" challenge this week . . . ROCK ON!! The samples you have done are AMAZING! For those of you haven't participated yet . . . well, what are you WAITING for????

Stamps: Upsy Daisy, Small Script, Polka Dot bg
Paper: Real Red, Basic Black, Whisper White
Ink: Basic Black, Real Red
Accessories: Large classic and scallop rectangle Nestabilities, paper piercing tool/mat, stylized silver hodgepodge hardward, May Arts black organza polka dot ribbon, small oval punch

Bloomin' Lovely and Challenge Reminder

Eastern Blooms . . . I never MEANT to like this set, yet here I am using it AGAIN!! Amelia says she likes this card, but still thinks this set is "weird" because she doesn't like the lines through the petals on the large flower. She's a teenager, so what do you expect? Everything is "weird" to her!

I did this for SC191. I love doing the sketch challenges (which I think I have mentioned at least a zillion times before), but I have noticed as I get OLDer, that so do my eyes. Cutting out all those little tiny pieces makes me squint a LOT! Good thing I have an ophthalmologist appointment next week. I've never HAD to have glasses before, so this will be a new experience for me (and I REFUSE to do anything even REMOTELY close to bifocals . . . YET!)

Don't forget to make a butterfly card for the challenge I posted yesterday. It's still not too late. I can't WAIT to see what y'all come up with!

Stamps: Eastern Blooms, Amazing to Zany
Paper: Basic Black, Riding Hook Red, Pink Pirouette, Kiwi Kiss, So Saffron
Ink: So Saffron, Kiwi Kiss, Riding Hood Red, Pink Pirouette
Accessories: 3/4" and 1/2" circle punches, scallop border punch, dimensionals, Cuttlebug Birds & Swirls ef

Butterfly Challenge for YOU!

Even after just over a year making butterfly cards, they STILL put a smile on my face! I'll actually kind of MISS this challenge once this next year is over (this makes card #53!). Maybe I can use y'all for some inspiration! Why don't you play along with me?

Starting today, if you have an idea floating around in your head for making your OWN butterfly card, DO IT!! Each week as I delve into the butterfly world, I think I will just take you with me! I will take a different element of the card every week to give you a starting point for inspiration (color, layout, technique or whatever)! Since I have already used THIS card for SCS's color challenge - CC181 - black, kraft, rose red - I want YOU to use the layout, because it is kind of fun It can be vertical (like mine), or horizontal. Make sure to include at least ONE butterfly somewhere on your card!

This is a standard A2 sized card made into a pocket. Take the right front edge and fold it back 1 1/2" to form a flap. I then used the scallop border punch to finish the flap off, but you can leave it straight, tear it, use a different punch or whatever strikes you. As a helpful hint . . . the actual card insert is 4" x 5" on its base (the kraft piece). Making it slightly smaller makes it easier to slip it into the pocket once it has been taped/glued closed!

That's it! In order to play, make your card and upload a photo of it into an online gallery. Then, come back here and make a comment on this entry, linking your card to the entry. Then we can ALL see what you make!! Have fun with it!! (And don't embarrass me by NOT playing along . . . I'd feel pretty dumb if NO ONE joins in!)

Stamps: Wonderful Words II, Side Spotted Butterfly by Rubbernecker
Paper: Basic Black, Kraft, Rose Red, Whisper White
Ink: Basic Black, Rose Red
Accessories: Scallop Border Punch, Cuttlebug Distressed Stripes ef, dimensionals

Upsy Daisy and the Magic of Brainwashing!

I have to say that Convention is as much a brainwashing experience as it is anything else!! One of the first things (if not THE first thing!) you do when you get to Convention is check in and get your "bag full of goodies!" In addition to stamp sets and supplies for doing "make-and-takes", the bag also contains a new catty! What fun it was this year to see it fresh and new. The Conventioneers were actually the first to see the new catalog, so it was great! As I perused the images, I had some immediate faves and some immediate, um . . . well, let's just say I didn't absolutely love ALL of the stamp sets!

Anyway, while Under the Stars remained at the top of my list throughout Convention (especially AFTER Brent Steele had sufficiently brainwashed us with his flying bears card!), Upsy Daisy did a major 180-degree turn for me! I was NOT loving it when I saw it in the catalog. It did practically NOTHING for me! Fast forward three days later . . . it had moved close to the top of my list, and was included on my first order on August 11. Funny how seeing a set in action makes you NEED it!! That happens on SCS to me ALL the time!!

Did this card for TLC183 - faux dry embossing. Basically, you stamp the image in white ink and heat set it or wait for it to dry. Then, using a stamp-a-ma-jig, stamp the image again, using the ink that coordinates with your cardstock color, slight off from the white image. It will make your image look as though it was dry embossed. (This actually looks more dry-emboss-y in person . . . can't really see the Tangerine ink very well, but you get the idea!)

Now, since it is the first day of school for my kids, I'm going to rush off and stamp something before the troops wake up! Have a happy Tuesday!

Stamps: Upsy Daisy, Only Ovals
Paper: Chocolate Chip, Old Olive, Tangerine Tango
Ink: Whisper White, Tangerine Tango, Chocolate Chip
Accessories: Long Rectangle Nestabilities (Scallop and Classic), Wide Oval Punch, May Arts brown organza polka dot ribbon

Beautiful Batik

This is one of my all-time favorite stamp sets. It is so versatile (and least for me, it is!). I was surprised at how "tropical" it came out looking this time. It seems every time I used this set, it looks different. I pulled it out for LSC182 . . . to use a stamp set that hadn't seen daylight for 6 months or more. Sadly, this set qualified perfectly!

I used the"true blue friend" sentiment from the Punches Three set. Even though it stamps as a scalloped square, the sentiment fit perfectly into the small oval punch. I am always looking for things to put into that little baby! Was happy to find another nice fit!

Stamps: Beautiful Batik, Batik Wheel, Punches Three
Paper: Riding Hood Red, Whisper White, Pacific Point, Kiwi Kiss
Ink: Riding Hood Red, Pacific Point, Kiwi Kiss
Accessories: Corner Notch punch, Classic and Scallop Small Square Nestabilities, paper piercing tool/mat, large and small oval punches

Out of Town, Yet Here I Am!

I am currently staring out the window at lovely Bear Lake . . . our family has had a condo up here for YEARS and I was telling my kids last night that they have not known a summer - their WHOLE LIFE - that hasn't included Bear Lake! We LOVE it here! It's so relaxing and fun.

I just thought I'd share another card that I did for the "Ways to Use It" Challenge on SCS from Thursday (my last card posted here was also for that, as well as being a butterfly card, but I forgot to mention it!). The idea was to incorporate paper tearing in your completed project. I used to tear my paper ALL the time. Just haven't done it for a while.
This bear ROCKS!! Before I even saw it demo-ed at Convention it was at the TOP of my list!! LOVE IT!! SO CUTE!! I have several other ideas in mind for this set, for sure!!!

I have a couple more things to share with you, so I'll be back on Monday!!

Stamps: Under the Stars
Paper: Chocolate Chip, Close to Cocoa, More Mustard, Watercolor paper, Very Vanilla, Old Olive
Ink: Black Stazon, Chocolate Chip, Close to Cocoa, Creamy Caramel, More Mustard
Accessories: Paper piercing tool/mat, large and small oval punches, blender pen, paper distressing tool, sponge

One Year of Butterflies and Good News!!

I absolutely cannot believe that this card officially marks one year of making butterfly cards for my "Follow the Butterfly" cards!! Butterfly #52!!! (See the link on the sidebar if you are confused!!) The scary part is, I have not used the same butterfly twice, and I don't look to be doing so any time soon (as I still have one more year to go!)!! The time has really gone by much more quickly than I ever would have expected!!

It is hard to tell from this photo, but it is a rather unique fold. Kind of a open-up-from-the-top-and-bottom sort of card. The Pink Pirouette flap is 3 1/4" wide (it opens down), and the Pacific Point flap is 3" wide (it opens up). I adhered both pieces to the back of the Kiwi Kiss piece via a 3/4" tab/flap. I hope this makes sense. After you fold the pink piece down, you can write whatever message you want on the Kiwi Kiss cardstock (I actually cut a rectangle slightly small that the pink piece out of Whisper White and stuck it down on top of the Kiwi piece so that the writing was easier to see. I have found that this is more and more important as my eyes get, um, older!) I got this idea from a swap card done by my good friend Cheryl (hey, girlfriend!). I'm always on the lookout for fun and funky folds, so this was right up my alley!!

As much as I had planned NOT to like SU's new In Colors, I have found myself drawn to them more and more (as you can tell from this post and the previous post)! Actually, my last card, done for SC190, used Pumpkin Pie instead of Tangerine Tango, AND I used both Kiwi Kiss and Old Olive. But Pacific Point is quickly moving up the scale as one of my favorite colors!

Stamps: Kind Thoughts, Linen bg
Paper: Tangerine Tango, Kiwi Kiss, Pink Pirouette, Whisper White, Pacific Point
Ink: Pacific Point, Baja Breeze, Kiwi Kiss, Pink Pirouette, Tangerine Tango
Accessories: Paper piercing tool/mat, scallop border punch, filigree and rhinestone brads, dimensionals

And now I have some very EXCITING news!! I was asked by my good friend, Jessica Knutsen, to be a member of the design team for her BRAND NEW stamp company - THERE SHE GOES!! You are DEFINITELY going to want to sneak on over to her blog today to check out her AWESOME stamp sets AND to get in on the last day of preorders for them (which will be "officially" released on September 1). The cool thing about the preorder is that you get special pricing! Excellent! Who doesn't love THAT??? It's going to be great fun playing with some fun, new images, so I hope y'all will stay tuned . . .

Yay for Amelia!!

My daughter, Amelia, is also an avid SCS fan. In fact, she has her own ID over there AND an ever-expanding gallery. Check it out:

Wendybell'sGirl

I got a p/m from the regularly-scheduled sketch challenge hostess, Roxy, asking me if I thought Amelia (who is only 14, by the way!) would like to guest hostess a sketch challenge. I shouted up the stairs and asked her what she thought. Her response?? "Are you KIDDING??!!??" She was TOTALLY stoked!! She came up with the sketch with VERY little help from me (in fact, I was gone on Sunday evening visiting a friend when she came up with the initial plan). I am SOOOO proud of what she came up with. This card was a sample I made for her to use along with her sketch challenge. She rocked, baby!!

Stamps: Eastern Blooms, Best Yet
Paper: Kiwi Kiss, Old Olive, Pumpkin Pie, Pacific Point, Whisper White
Ink: Old Olive, Pacific Point, Pumpkin Pie
Accessories: Large classic and scallop circle Nestabilities, white taffeta ribbon, stylized silver ribbon slide, 1 3/8" and 1 1/4" circle punches, Cuttlebug Spots & Dots ef, paper piercing tool and mat

THIS is HER card! Didn't she do a FAB-O job???? She is destined for the Dirty Dozen for sure!!!

Stamps: Crazy for Cupcakes, Cupcake wheel
Paper: Really Rust, Old Olive, More Mustard, Close to Cocoa, Chocolate Chip, Very Vanilla
Ink: Chocolate Chip, More Mustard, Assorted Copic markers
Accessories: Large circle nestabilities, large oval punch, 1 1/4" circle punch, 1/4" chocolate chip grosgrain ribbon, Crystal Ice Stickles, Swiss Dots Cuttlebug ef

Passionate Flowers

I feel like I have spent the entire summer saying "I'm back!" I have a couple of short little weekend jaunts left (next weekend and Labor Day weekend), then I will be back to the grind, as it were! We had a great time at girl's camp this past week. The weather was lovely, the girls were wonderful and we did some really fun hiking, canoeing and overall playing. Good times!!

Here is a card I created right before I left last Tuesday for CC179. I really like this color combo - Taken with Teal, Elegant Eggplant and Old Olive. Who woulda thunk it???? I added some Sahara Sand as my neutral color (plus a little bit of white). The Inspired by Nature stamp set is starting to turn into a fave for me. It really is purdy!

In the meantime, I got two boxes chock full of fun new toys from SU's new catty!! I can't wait to play with them and share some of the things I come up with here, so stay tuned . . .

Stamps: Inspired by Nature
Paper: Elegant Eggplant, Old Olive, Taken with Teal, Sahara Sand, Whisper White
Ink: Sahara Sand, Elegant Eggplant, Taken with Teal
Accessories: ticket corner punch, key tag punch, word window punch, 1 3/8" circle punch, paper piercing tool/mat, paper distressing tool, ice rhinestones, dimensionals

Where Did It Go??

I honestly can't believe that summer is nearly OVER!! The kids start school two weeks from today. YIKES!! This has been, without a doubt, the fastest, most crazy, and most travelled summer I have EVER experienced!! What an absolute tornado!!! But, I digress . . .

I tried something totally new yesterday. For TLC181, the challenge was to do a "stained glass" front on your creation. Truth be told I didn't have all the proper "tools" for the job. What???? Can that be right???? Actually, the technique calls for you to stamp an image in StazOn ink (which I do have) onto a piece of acetate (also had that!). Then, using a few drops of Crystal Effects mixed with a little reinker (colors of your choice!), you "paint" the back of the acetate with your new concoction, filling in the lines and creating a beautiful stained glass window. Although I DO have some Crystal Effects, the substance in the bottle was kinda yellow and super thick, so it wasn't going to work for me!! I ended up cheating a bit and using my Copics to color the image in.

I placed a HUGE order with Stampin' Up yesterday, as it was the first day we were allowed to order from the new Fall/Winter catalog (can anyone say $$$???)!! I actually DID remember to order myself some new CE, so I need to try this technique again!!

I love using my Nestabilities to create a "frame." I do it quite often, but not usually with one this big. Makes a great window, don't you think? I placed the pink mat behind the acetate, so you can actually see more of the image that way. And, I borrowed a cute little idea from Nichole Heady of Papertrey . . . I stamped a row of polka dots and bordered it, top and bottom, with a couple of little score lines using my ever-trusty Scor-Pal. Cute, eh? For those who are counting, this makes "Follow the Butterflies" challenge card #51 (see link at right for more info).

I'm off to Girl's Camp a little later today, and won't be back 'til Friday afternoon. I'll post something new then!

Stamps: Doodlewings by Stampendous, Polka Dot Basics by Papertrey
Paper: Brocade Blue, Whisper White, Bordering Blue, So Saffron, Pixie Pink, Acetate
Ink: Black Stazon, Whisper White, various Copic markers
Accessories: Nestabiliites scallop rectangle, Three for You punch, white brads, pink gingham ribbon by Offray, Scor-Pal