Note Cards - Wonderful Wings

This is a stash busting opportunity.  Pulling 4" wide remnants of designer paper are pulled from the stash.

I cut the piece of designer paper from Fancy Pants - Summer Soiree - Beach House by Michelle Coleman with wavy decorative scissors.  It was placed in a wide landscape orientation on a yellow card. I produced the butterfly accent with Stampin Up Wonderful Wings stamp set in Blue Bayou on Whisper White card stock. It was then punched out with the Decorative Label punch. The accent is adhered over the split in the designer paper with 3D foam tape.

On this card, the same layout and butterfly on a decorative label punchie.  The designer paper is warm in tone with flowers and circles.  I selected white card for this paper.

On this card, the same layout and butterfly on a decorative label punchie.  The designer paper is warm in tone in soft watercolor pattern.  I selected warm blue card for this paper.  The butterfly accent has no frame.

On this card I chose Stampin Up Brillant Blue for the butterfly accent.  The card is white, the designer paper is ripped and the orientation is tall portrait.

Note Cards - Canvas Butterfly

I received an order for blank note cards.  I chose to finish my supply of canvas butterflies into these cards.  They are all gone! I'm moving to another method.



 








Above - I chose a deep taupe card and designer paper by Fancy Pants - Fancy Free collection - Tradition.  I ripped the small piece on the left by pulling towards myself to avoid the wide rip edge. Then I pulled again a narrow strip to remove the white edge. These pieces were then adhered to the card front leaving a space of card showing.  I adhered the canvas butterfly over this space in the top left hand corner with Zots.

Right - On this card I chose a light taupe card which coordinated with one of the colors in the flowers.  I applied the same process and glued my designer paper in the portrait tall orientation.  Zots hold the canvas butterfly in place.  The designer paper is by Little Yellow Bicycle - Acorn Hollow.

Share Your Cup - Pretty Things

Isn't life time replacement guarantee pretty rare these days. Well Tupperware still has one!
I had to get some replacement pieces as some of my Tupperware containers had cracked and broken.  Several pieces could not be replaced so I got credit.  What to buy?  After a browse through the catalog I saw several pieces in Salt Water Taffy which reminded me very much of my blue dishes.  I still have my original yellow set of measuring cups from several decades ago but I thought why not a new set in this gorgeous color! I got the snack set in the same color. They will fit into my tablescaping very nicely. Done!

I got 10 clear napkin rings in with some crystal glass pieces I will show you in later post.  I thought they may have been glass but alas no!
Oh well you win some you lose some.  They are very pretty and go with any decor.  I guess you do need to have cloth napkins to really make them work. 

I have been on the hunt for some Masala Chai Tea.  I have visited most tea shoppes in my area.  With a walk to The Tea Girl I picked up some Masala & Himalayan Chai.  The price was reasonable so I will have a try with these two in hopes of being able to buy some locally.  My favorite I have to buy from central Alberta which is not always convenient and quite pricey but it is the best so far.  They refill the tins when you bring them back and offer a discount.

I purchased this long black velvet skirt at the Rummage Sale last weekend.  I have been looking for a piece to help me in my photography.  It absorbs the light so really helps with reflections.  The skirt 37" long and opened up the piece of fabric is 70 inches wide.  That will do really well for my purpose. 

A blue tea bag holder in a leaf shape with a round matching saucer.  It has silver gilding along the outside edge.  Several holes in the centre to allow the tea to drain.  Goes well with my navy mugs. Love it!!




Sharing at Share Your Cup hosted my Carol at Art & Sand.

Sympathy Card & Card Set

I made another set of sympathy cards to have a set in reserve when the need arises.

This designer paper is by Fiskars - Kimberly Poloson - Rose Garden.  The colors are very suitable to a somber occasion. On the sympathy card I chose a 4 inch square of designer paper with a color printed greeting in Early Espresso on a gray granite card.  I added a length of ivory satin ribbon and placed the ivory canvas butterfly along it's length.


I love the old crackle design on the other side of this card stock.  I chose several different colors of card stock to provide some variety. There was a natural parchment card, some grey granite, and a muted blue.  I was consistent with the 1/8" ivory satin ribbon and the canvas butterfly through out the set varying the layout and the orientation of the split in the designer paper.   The canvas butterfly is held in place with Zots.  The DSP split is 3.5 & 1.75 inches.

Gold Glitter Sunburst

I managed to cut the Stampin Up Sunburst Thinlit die from something other than yellow card stock.  It`s gold glitter so it was not too much of a stretch.  I placed it on it`s side so it does not look so much as a sun, which helps.  This is a birthday card for a young lady who is growing up quickly.  I started with a white card.  I added a layer of purple which was adhered to the card front.  I adhered the gold glitter sunburst die onto the card front and trimmed the rays to the card edge.  I added a sentiment made up of a Spellbinder Nestabilities scallop circle No.2 from the center of the large set cut from hot pink and a color printed greeting which coordinates. 

Mosaic Monday - This Week

A few photos from the past week.  The purple pasque flower was snow free this year when I went by this week.  Last year it was snow covered.
As I crossed the bridge a pigeon came to rest on the rail very near me so I just took a shot.  I rarely can get that close to them.  I guess he felt he could get away fast if I moved.
The bushes by the train station were just getting ready to be in full bloom.  Love this shot as I can just see the blossom ready to burst out.
There has been a construction site set up near the entrance of the bridge for a while now.  It consumes a portion of the park and I was wondering what was going on.  Now I know. They have closed the sidewalk on the west side of the bridge and are installing these barriers all along the whole length.  I expect that soon the east sidewalk will be closed and the same will take place there.  Really puts a damper on shots of the river, valley and area from the bridge. Safety First!

We have had some rain recently.  I could not find much evidence as it has just absorbed into the very dry soil.  At the fountain I found a bit in the base.

Submitting this to Mosaic Monday hosted by Judith at Lavender Cottage now only being done once a month. 

Share Your Cup #194

I found this Buddha Board at the thrift store and for a few bucks I brought it home.  I have admired them many times in stores but the price was too high to bring one home.
The Buddha Board concept is to paint something on the board with water and the brush. As the water dries it slowly disappears.  It's a Zen type practice to live in the moment. 

The photo on the right are Ibis metal structures in a front yard on my walk this week. 




Here's a door knob again on one of my walks this week.  A great blue door with plate behind the knob with an Asian feel.











This hare was sunning it's self next to a cement wall near a construction site, hence the bright blue fencing in the photo.  He did not move so I was able to get a great shot of him eyeing me closely.

The berry bushes are in bloom.  I'm not sure what type of bush this is but the flowers were many and wonderful to see.  There seems to be an Asian theme going on there.

This is fabric I bought at the Fabric Frenzy recently which will become a navy table cloth with a sunflower table runner.  I'll put pictures up of the finished project in a future post.

The sale was organized by local grandmothers to support grandmothers in Africa.  You can read more about their mission here.

Sharing at Art and Sand hosted by Carol.

All Occasion Cards - Canvas Butterfly

I made a set of cards for the family who are grieving the loss of a husband, father, and grandfather.

The colors in the paper allowed me to use several card colors (kraft, royal blue and sage green) to provide some variety in this set of very simple cards. They can be used as needed at this difficult time.
The designer paper was cut to 4" square then ripped leaving a smaller and a larger piece. The piece with the white paper edge was ripped again to remove the white paper edge.  I adhered the pieces to both ends of the card leaving the card color showing in between.
I adhered the canvas butterfly over this space held in place with Zots. The design is versatile in that it works in the wide or tall orientation.

Sympathy - Canvas Butterfly

This is a sympathy card for a friend who lost her husband Ray this week.  I'm attending his funeral today and we will celebrate his full life of 93 years.

I spread some Tim Holtz Faded Jeans Distress Stain onto my acrylic plate then just pressed the kraft card front onto it to create a mono print.
I created the tag by cutting a strip of navy card stock to 2" wide and punched the end with the Stampin Up Banner Triple Punch.  The kraft layer was cut to 1.5" and punched the same way.  These were adhered together. I stamped the sentiment from the SU Simply Sketched stamp set in SU Night of Navy ink.  I adhered the canvas butterfly above the sentiment with Zots. I punched a hole in the upper left hand corner and added a cotton string matching the butterfly.  The tag is adhered to the card front with 3D foam tape.

Submitting to the following challenge:
Tag You're It Challenge #45

Mosaic Monday - Bright and Shiny

I heard this set of woodpeckers before I saw them.  But getting close enough for a good shot was a challenge.  The male has a bright red spot on his head which makes him pretty easy to spot once you hear him. 

There was a bright green door on a spa business on my walk this morning. 

Shiny butterfly was in amongst the foliage at the Conservatory during my visit on Sunday. The Fleur the Lis is a wood
decoration on a door which was marked for demolition so I took the chance when I had it.

Mrs. Robin has a bright orange breast but she was eyeing me pretty severely.  The squirrel was playing frozen for a few shots so I had to wait until he moved to be a little more natural. 

The walk this morning was wonderful.

Submitting to Mosaic Monday hosted by Judith at Lavender Cottage. 

Mason Jar Sticker Card

Here's a card which was my original design for the lace card for card club.  I did not have enough stickers for the kits I needed and I was having difficulty finding a graphic to match the dimensions of the sticker.  I just moved on to another design.

I chose a pink card to coordinate with the flowes in the vase. The eyelet lace has blue 1/8" satin ribbon pulled through the holes.  The ends are taped to the inside of the card.  I printed the flower vase onto white card layer and then added the clear dimensional mason jar sticker over the printed one.

A very nice feminine card.

Card Club - April - Square Frame Photo

I'm holding another Card Club class today.

I started with a 4" photo featuring a beautiful butterfly. I cut it with the Die-namics Stitched Square Frame thin dies which gives me the frame and the inner square. I trimmed the inner square with the paper cutter to make it a bit smaller than the opening of the frame. I chose a turquoise card which matched the butterly very well.  I adhered the stitched frame to the card front.  The center square is adhered with 3D foam tape to raise it a bit.  Now the border of blue shows through the frame.  The greeting was color printed onto the card stock before I adhered my layers.

Love it!







I see that on this one I forgot to trim the center square so there is only a shadow on the center vs the frame.

Card Club - April - One Sheet Wonder

This card is designed on the One Sheet Wonder concept which allows many cards to be made with a limited amount of designer paper.
This one is Stampin Up  Print Pattern in Sahara Sand with the matching card stock.  The piece of designer paper is adhered to the left hand side of a wide card. The strip of solid card stock is glued over the right hand edge of the designer paper.




The greeting if from the So Happy For You stamp set in the same color as the card was trimmed with scissors to the frame. The greetings were cut to 3 inches. It was then layered onto a square of white card stock.  This layer is adhered to the card front with 3D foam tape centered on the card front. The second card is Really Rust. 

Card Club - April - Masculine

We have a masculine card next.

The bird images are from Graphics Fairy.  They were printed onto kraft card stock. A layer of solid card stock was then trimmed to leave a small border.  The piece of caramel seam binding is taped to the back of the colored piece then adhered to the kraft card front.  Then the left hand piece of ribbon is pulled across to the right and the bird layer is adhered over it to the left side of the card with 3D foam tape.  The seam binding is then knotted and the ends trimmed.










The second card has a green layer and greeting.  I did not align my ribbon to allow me to tie a knot so I just cut them at an angle.  I added a small oval greeting in the top right hand corner.

Card Club - April - Eyelet Lace

A great feminine card for this class featuring eyelet lace. I pulled a length of satin 1/8" ribbon through the holes in the lace. Trimmed the ribbon to the length of the lace, saving the small length for later.  I then taped the ends to the inside of the card. I adhered the flower layer to the solid card stock layer. This accent was then adhered to the card front with 6 pieces of 3D foam tape on the left hand side of the card.  I then tied the short piece of ribbon onto the ribbon on the right hand side and trimmed the ends with scissors. 

The second card features a marigold and a golden yellow card with a coordinating satin ribbon into the white lace. 

Macro Monday2

I was on a visit to the Conservatory this afternoon.  It was gorgeous out but not too many flowers out there just yet.

Foxglove in it's purple garb.  I love the little hairs visible on the inside of it's bell blossom.

This is an orange orchid.  I should have taken a pic of it's name but didn't and could not find anything on line to help me out.

This tiny rose bud was just the right size.  My focus is not a tight as I would have liked but it's very cute. Very classic look.

















This was a tiny cactus in a terra cotta pot near the gift shop.  It was not taller than 2 inches.  I loved the star like thorns.  They did not appear very dangerous but maybe it's because they are babies yet.

The red berry photo turned out quite nice.  I love the shape of the leaves and the fact that the 2 leaves and the berry form a nice triangle.

Share Your Cup - Spring is Here

I captured these images on my walks this week.  This kids are out playing soccer and the leaves on the trees are budding and soon they will have a crown of green to display.







This is a cool tool.  It was gifted to me by a friend who sews.  It is very handy.  It sits at the edge of your work space and as you work it holds your discards.  At the end of the session it is easily dumped and the mess is quickly cleaned up.  This works for paper crafters, quilters, and other crafters.  The rectangle at the top is filled with rice or walnut shells which provides the weight and can be used as a pin cushion.  I understand it makes a great remote control holder on an arm of a chair or sofa.  Great idea.  Thanks Ada.

I hosted our women's fellowship group today.  The sun was shining, tea and coffee was made and a few healthy snacks were put out.  We spread the responsibilities around so it's not a burden on any one person. The hostess provides the beverages, another brings the snacks and another does devotions.  The devotion was on Seeds of Peace based on the life of Henry Kissinger so Joan brought cilantro growing in a navy blue pot. I will endeavor to have it thrive.  I did a bit of a talk on connecting women.  I share a post shared by Podso this week on Tea for Two.  The idea is to always be ready to share tea with a friend who needs encouragement.  I asked if I could share the concept with the group. She included a couple more ideas in her email and I really liked this one.  Hospitality versus Entertaining which is a blog post by Jen Wilkin.  We need to be real, authentic, and put ourselves aside to serve another.

Garden Week - Card

I made this card for the Home Page Card Challenge at CST.  The challenge is to choose a holiday in April and make a card to go with it.  I chose Week 2 which is Garden Week.
I chose one of my 4 inch photos featuring a beautiful pink tulip. I cut it with the Die-namics Stitched Square Frame thin dies which gives me the frame and the inner square. I trimmed the inner square with the paper cutter to make it a bit smaller than the opening of the frame. I chose a pink card which matched the tulips very well.  I adhered the stitched frame to the card front.  The center square is adhered with 3D foam tape to raise it a bit.  Now the border of pink shows through the frame.  I embossed the bottom edge of the card with the Cuttlebug Nathaniel`s Penwork border embossing folder.  I will have to work out how to get it centered on the card but it is the perfect width so I will work it.

Card Exchange Group Cards

I started with the ink background. This is done with by placing a variety of ink onto an acrylic plate and pressing a piece of card stock onto it to capture the ink. The ink can be stamp pad re-inkers, liquid acrylic, or any other dye based ink. I stamped the SU Print Pattern Background stamp onto it with Ballet Blue craft ink in hopes to be able to emboss it.  The powder did not stick well. I chose a Stampin Up Apricot Appeal card which coordinated well.  I cut a set of flowers with the Flower Fair Thinlit set. The large flower is Marina Mist as I did not have Ballet Blue which was embossed with the Polka Dot Folder, then the medium is a repeat of Apricot Appeal, then the center is Starfruit card stock. The leaves were cut from Starfruit as well. The greeting is stamped with the Little Birthday Cheer Stamp set with Kiwi Kiss ink onto Apricot Appeal and punched with the Modern Label punch. It is adhered to the card front with 3D foam tape.

 I chose my ink background to coordinate with Stampin Up Apricot Appeal again. This time I stamped the Triple Treat Flower Stamp Set onto the vellum with Garden Green craft ink and clear embossed it.  The greeting from the Sweet Essentials Stamp set is handled the same way.  I stamped the flower again on Apricot Appeal and punched it out with the Five Petal punch.  It is adhered over the vellum flower with 3D foam tape.  I ripped the edges of the vellum with a deckle edge ruler but it was not as effective as I had hoped.  The vellum ends are folded to the inside of the card and taped down. 
These cards are headed to the girls in my Card Exchange Group.

Bright Colors Birthday

I made this card for someone celebrating a birthday this month.  I chose a Kelly green card based on the ink background decorative paper I selected which featured yellows and green.  I cut the background paper to leave a medium border around the edge of the card and adhered it to the card front.  I stamped the Watercolor Daisy from Hampton Art in Paprika Versacolor ink on vellum and clear embossed it.  I ripped both sides then placed it on the front of the card, folded the ends to the inside and taped them down to the inside of the card.  I put a mini yellow brad in the center of the flower by making a hole with a push pin, inserting the prongs through and pressing them apart on the inside of the card.  I added a Stampin Up Word Window sentiment in green.  The word is from a small clear stamp set I bought at Michaels a long time ago.

Submitting to the Come and Get It Card Challenge - Bright Colors.

Sympathy - One Layer Geometric

After checking the challenge at Less is More a little more closely it suggested that the card should include geometric or pattern. 
I designed a new card which meets the challenge more closely.
I chose several Stampin Up digital images.
Classic Dad - Diamond background
Wonderful Wings - Butterfly 2
Teeny Tiny Wishes - With Sympathy
Punch Shapes - Modern Label Punch
I chose Certainly Celery for the diamond pattern background and Night of Navy for the butterfly, sentiment and Modern Label punch.  I put the diamond layer on the bottom half of the Whisper White card. I placed the butterfly above the diamond layer and the sentiment onto the label punch shape onto the diamond pattern.  I placed texture with a scored line around the card edge.

Submitting to the Less Is More - 271 - One Layer Card Challenge.