Over The Edge

This is my second posting today and final one for the week. I don't play in my Butterfly Garden on the weekends because these days are reserved for family. So I'll see you, my wonderful blogging friends, next week.

Yup...creating cards has driven me 'over the edge' (wink)...not really....that is the challenge at Our Creative Corner.  The challenge is to create a card or paper craft item with a design element that is not restricted to the boundaries of the card edges and continues to flow off of the edge of the card. Fun, fun, fun...I love thinking outside of the box (or card as in this case).

The carnation image and sentiment are from Sweet 'n Sassy Stamp set, it was colored with Copic markers. The decorative edge is MFT and the grooves on the background were created with a Scor-pal.

Back to creating cards in my Butterfly Garden. (next week)

Black & White & Splash!

The great challenge at Our Creative Corner this week is to create a black and white card with  a 'splash' of color.

The embossing folder is from Cuttlebug, dies are from Spellbinders and Sizzix. The red paper was sprayed with a gold mist before embossing and cutting. Stickles were used to highlight the flower and the leaves. 

Back to creating cards in my Butterfly Garden.

Winter's Return

My 'think spring' mantra didn't work over the weekend because in a 24 hour period we got 16 inches of snow! :-(  To brighten my day I went looking for some colorful challenges. I found exactly what I was looking for at Play Date Cafe. The colors at the Cafe are bold and bright this week. I used these colors to create a 'Best Friend' card that includes a flower for the challenge at Our Creative Corner. Maybe these bright, bold colors along with the flower will bring our 'springtime' weather back! Ha ha ha. Who am I kidding after all it is only February!

The 'buggie' background paper and the striped paper is from a Debbie Mumm pad. The stamp and sentiment are from Inky Antics and the 'bee' die cuts are from a Cuttlebug die. The rhinestones, ribbon and flower are from my stash. I used a combination of Copic markers and Prisma colored pencils to color the image.

This is the inspirational photo from the Cafe.

Back to creating cards in my Butterfly Garden.

Ragged Romeo

Tui Nathan, the Guest Designer Coordinator for Our Creative Corner, contacted me a few weeks ago, with an invitation to be this week's GD. I am extremely honored to have the opportunity to be associated with this fabulous DT. If you're looking for inspiration and variety check out both the OCC and Tui's blog.

The challenge for that week is being hosted by Sharon Wheet and this is what she has to say:

"Love is in the Air - make a Valentine's Day item (card, scrapbook page layout, 3-D item, or an altered item) using the colors: Pink, Grey, & Kraft.  Now add some sparkle, (rhinestones, glitter, metal) anything that shines!  And don't forget to include a heart shape."

This is a Mo Manning image that has been colored with Copic markers, embossing folders from Sizzix and Cuttlebug and the rhinestones and flowers are from Michaels. The small hearts were highlighted with PTI Fresh Snow Pigment ink, applied with a piece of Cut 'n Dry. The ribbon was colored with a Copic marker to match the sketch. Why don't you grab some paper and play along with this great challenge, would love to see what you create.

Thanks to Tui and whole DT for giving me this wonderful opportunity. I've loved every moment of this experience.

Back to creating cards in my Butterfly Garden.

Hip to be Square

Lately I have been making a lot of square cards. I stayed away from them, but now that I have envelopes for square cards, it's "full steam ahead". I like to have envelopes for all of my cards because I just hate putting a beautiful card into a mismatched envelope. I think first impressions are important! Anyone else think this way?

Our Creative Corner Challenge this week is 'hip to be square'.

If this was a layered challenge, I could enter this card. Counting the card base it is 6 layers.  Layer 1: card base.  Layer 2 is DP from JoAnn's.  Layer 3 is teal scalloped circles from Spellbinders.  Layer 4 is also a Spellbinders circle that has been embossed in a Cuttlebug folder, then the raised areas were colored with Prisma colored pencils. The birds are a part of the embossed image. I lined the birds up to fit inside the respective cages before embossing.  Layer 5 is Taylored Expressions birdcages stamped on acrylic, colored on the backside with markers and mounted to layer 4 with clear pop dots.  Layer 6 is leaves cut from a Sizzix die. The sentiment in the middle is from a Stamping Sensations' Perfectly Said Rubber Stamp set called .....wait for it....."BIRD QUOTES". How appropriate is that?

This is the sketch that was used to design this card.

Back to creating cards in my Butterfly Garden.

Oh Baby

This is another great week for challenges, 2012 is starting off on the right foot. That's for sure. So many challenges so little time. What's a gal to do? This card is for the Our Creative Corner challenge and the Mojo Monday sketch challenge.

The stamp is Penny Black and it was colored with Copic markers. The challenge at OCC is to use the inspirational photo to make a 'baby themed' item. When I looked at the photo, my eye was immediately drawn to the one, large, golden colored flower on top of the cake. The coral flowers and the tree got my attention next. So this card is an attempt to recreate those items. The bear is for the golden colored flower, bet you can figure out the rest (wink).

I took a few liberties with the Mojo Monday sketch. I can never cut two squares the same size so I replaced the squares with rectangles hahaha, rotated the sketch 90 degrees and made the center panel narrower. Here is the Mojo Monday Sketch so you can see the changes I made.

Back to creating cards in my Butterfly Garden.

Hawaiian Muumuu

The challenge at Our Creative Corner is to make a "shape" card. While vacationing in Hawaii last year I visited some stamping stores in Honolulu. How great is that!! My wonderful DH even accompanied me as we walked through the city looking for these stores. Of course, I just happened to have the address for a few of these stores. (wink)  I was fortunate enough to bring back some wonderful papers, stamps, die cuts and patterns. This is one of the patterns.

A "Punch bunch" punch was used to make the lei.

Back to creating cards in my Butterfly Garden.

Dinner by Candlelight

This card was chosen for the Top Talent Award at Our Creative Corner.

This Christmas I placed candles on the mantle and tables for an added bit of ambiance. What makes this different for me is the fact that I have been unable to do this because I have little grandchildren. I worry about open flames when there are little, quick fingers around. Battery operated candles to the rescue. The challenge this week at Our Creative Corner is to use a scene from your home for inspiration. The candles provided my inspiration.

          
This Iris Folded candle uses scraps of paper from my stash. 

Gold embossing powder was used for the greeting inside the Nestie banner. The banner edges were lined with a Marvy Gold Calligraphy pen, a glue pen then glitter. The halo effect around the pseudo flame was made with a glue pen and glitter.

The fern is a 'Punch Bunch' punch and the gold flourishes are from a MFT die. Glitter was applied to the pearls for an added bit of sparkle.

Back to creating cards in my Butterfly Garden.