Saraphena

Stretch 'n Bubbles is sponsoring this weeks challenge at Tuesday Morning Sketches.  So stretch you imagination and play along using this weeks challenge sketch. The very multi-talented Melissa designed this sketch. Don't you think that the flourishes make it a super festive design.

I chose a whimsical fairy image to use on this lovely sketch. She is dressed in her finest sparkly holiday attire.

The white flourish is from MFT, oval from Nestability, DP's from Cloud 9 Designs and ribbon from my stash. Prisma colored pencils and Gamsol were used to color this sweet "Saraphena" fairy.

Stickles and rhinestones were added to give her some added sparkle. If you look closely, you just might see her flickering around your Christmas tree.

Please stop by Tuesday Morning Sketches and leave the DT some holiday love. They enjoy comments as much as you do.

Back to creating cards in my Butterfly Garden.

CR84FN43

Another lovely color combination at CR84FN. The colors for this challenge are Brown, Tan and Green. I've been making Christmas cards so this combo is a nice change from the traditional Christmas colors that I have been using. If you haven't submitted a card yet, there is still time to play!

I never have Sympathy cards when I need them so I took the opportunity to turn this card into a Sympathy card. The brown ribbons that I had were either too sheer or too narrow, so I layered them. Embossing folder is Cuttlebug, foliage is Sizzix, pearls from Want2Scrap and ribbon from Michaels.

Inspirational photo that inspired this card:

FYI........(read the quote) there is very little green grass anywhere around my home! It has something to do with the falling leaves of Autumn and that white stuff which falls at this time of year. It has nothing to do with 'not taking good care of your grass.'

Back to creating cards in my Butterfly Garden.

Snowflakes & Snowmen

The Stamp Fairy is the sponsor for the challenge at Tuesday Morning Sketches. This week we have the privilege of working with a sketch that was designed by Dawn. I think you're going to love working with this sketch.

As I mentioned a few weeks ago the only snow I like is faux snow. This card fits the bill quite nicely. The digi image is from the Stamp Fairy.

The background was embossed with a Sizzix embossing folder, the raised flakes were highlighted with white ink on a piece of Cut 'n Dry. A white gel pen was used on a few of the snowflakes to make them 'whiter' and then Recollections snowflake stickers were applied over these. For a touch of bling, a blue rhinestone was placed in the center of the whitened flakes. The image was colored with Prisma colored pencils and blended with Gamsol. Extreme glitter was lightly applied on the snow and the snowman. The sentiment is from a See D's Winter stamp set.

Hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving and please stop by the DT blogs to thank them for all the inspiration they provide each and every week. Angela, Dawn, Jacki, Jessica, Kathy, Theresa, Melissa.

Back to creating cards in my Butterfly Garden.

CR84FN42

Another wonderful color combination from Mona at CR84FN. Check out the marvelous samples from the DT. This is week two of this color challenge. There is still time to play so why don't you give it a try.

As the Holidays get closer I find that I have less and less time to play. It seems that once the Halloween candy is handed out the next thing you know it is time for champagne! I guess time really does fly when you're having FUN. That is, of course, if you consider the hustle and bustle of finding the perfect gift fun! I love seeing the excitement on the faces of my youngest grandchildren. Okay enough rambling.....back to the purpose of this posting.

Sometimes there is beauty in simplicity.  Die cuts, embossing folders, black pearl flourishes, a pearl brad, a silver sticker (colored with a black Peel Off marker) and ribbon from Hobby Lobby were used to make this simply beautiful card. The floral element used white and pink cardstock that was sprayed with a Pearl Ex and water mist before it was die cut. Of course I used my trusty Marvy Gold metallic pen!

Back to creating cards in my Butterfly Garden.

Giving Thanks

Yeah it is Tuesday Morning Sketch time once again. Sketch #120 is the judged challenge for the month. Create a paper project using the sketch and the added twist is  'Giving Thanks'  or a Thank You card. Can't wait to see what you design.  This week's sketch was created by the talented Melissa and the sponsor is The Stamping Boutique.

Since Thanksgiving is next week I chose to use a delicious digital image. Of course.......life is uncertain so eat dessert first! Keeping that in mind my card starts with dessert... "Pumpkin Pie"! yum yum yum    The challenge at Our Creative Corner is to create a "pumpkin" card.  So feast your eyes on this delicious low calorie pumpkin pie!

I stayed close to Melissa sketch but made a landscape view card instead of a portrait view.  The image was colored with Prisma colored pencils and blended with Gamsol.  Stickles, gel pens and metallic pens were used to add a touch of bling.  The sentiment was stamped with Hero Arts alphabet stamps and heat embossed with Stampendous embossing powder.  The DP is from a Me and My Big Ideas pad, the ribbon is from Michael's and the glitter leaves are from a Jolee sticker pack.

Great cards from the DT. Take a look: Angela,  Dawn,  Jacki,  Jessica,  Kathy, Theresa,  Melissa

Back to creating cards in my Butterfly Garden.

Non Traditional Christmas Colors

It's Tuesday so time for another Tuesday Morning Sketch #119.  This week's sketch was designed by Kathy Curry and There She Goes clear stamps is the sponsor. This is the great sketch we are using to create our cards.

I am way behind this year and haven't even figured out what Christmas cards I will be making. I usually choose one stamp and make different versions with the same stamp.  While I was brain storming I flipped through a K and Co. pad, pulled out 2 different papers and decided to see what could be created with these papers using the sketch that Kathy designed.

These are the brightest, non traditional colors that I have ever used. Purple and teal and green......oh my! With a touch of red and pink. I think I have covered all the colors of the rainbow in this card. the adorable penguin is a Darcie stamp and being an equal opportunity employer...I used Copic markers, Prisma colored pencils, gel pens and Stickles on the jolly guy. The background paper was embossed with a Sizzix folder, the snowflake doilies are from PTI, the striped shape on the right is a Nestie, rhinestones and ribbon are from Michael's, the tiny snowflakes are from a Fiskar corner punch, the snowflake charm is from Fire Mountain Gems. As usual I used a Marvy Metallic pen on the edges of the CS.

Check out the great cards from the amazing DT:  Angela, Dawn, Jacki, Jessica, Kathy, Theresa, Melissa.

Back to creating cards in my Butterfly Garden.

Fall 'n Paint Chips

The challenge for the month of November, at our local stamping club, was to make a card using the four paint chips (thanks Lowe's) that were handed out in October. The challenge at the Paper Players was a "Fall" theme challenge. I thought I would combine the two since the paint chips were definitely 'Fall' colors.

These are the paint chips before I started on  my card. This is the after:

The leaves were cut with a Sizzix die, then gold embossed with a Wiff of Joy stamp set. The sentiment is from the Inky Antics Mervin Thanksgiving set, rhinestones and Marvy Gold pen from Michaels and the Fleur De Lis square is a Nestie.

There is another card in progress with the remaining paint chip scraps. I'll post that next week.

Back to creating cards in my Butterfly Garden.

Fancy Folds

The fun theme challenge this week at Our Creative Corner is to create a "fancy fold" card. I love cards with different folds so the only difficult part was to choose which fold to use to make a card to .

It has been a while since I made a 'Spring Card', so I thought it was time to dust off the template, the embossing template and the 3D decoupage sheets. The white square was embossed using the old fashioned light box and embossing tools. There are 4 different designs on each of the metal embossing templates, so the possibilities are endless. After the design was embossed, small stencil brushes were used to apply colors from a different dye pads. The center of the square was removed using a craft knife and ruler. Then the white embossed, colored and cut square was adhered to the blue cardstock.

The 3D decoupage sheet was fussy cut and then layered in the middle of the square. Some of the images are 5 layers thick. Since foam tape would make this way too high....clear acrylic caulking was used between the layers. It adds just the right amount of dimension without the added bulk. Gold liquid pearls and stickles were used for a touch of bling in the corners and flower centers. I opted to use a few silk flowers on the base so as not to detract from the main focal point. The supplies for this card were purchased at Kamya.

Back to creating cards in my Butterfly Garden.