Thinking of You

Hello, out there!  I have a new card for you today for the theme of "Thinking of You" at the Card A Day Blog .  This card has some layering, but I wanted to keep it nice and flat for mailing.  So, there's no foam tape and no fancy shaping on the flowers.  All of which makes it nice and simple.  Also, I used ALL leftovers - again.

I started out with a butterfly stamp.  I had two from which to choose, so I stamped and colored both of them before deciding which one to use.  My choice of colors on the butterfly determined what my card base and all the other elements would be.

I stamped the butterfly with Memento 'Tuxedo Black' on an old scrap of some kind of art paper.  My daughter had a painting, done by the mom of a friend, that had a huge border which I cut 'for future use.'  After testing the paper, I determined that it wouldn't work too well for watercoloring (which is what I thought I was going to do), so I used some Memento and Tombow markers to make my butterfly bright and cheery.

I knew I wanted to use flowers with my butterfly, so once my coloring was done, I went into my stash of flowers and chose some that I had punched quite some time ago for another project which just happened to be in the right colors.  (I just love when that happens - don't you?)  I also wanted something to layer behind my focal piece, and I found a punched border that was just right.  I used Tim Holtz 'Antique Linen' Distress Ink to give the piece a similar aged look.

I layered the flowers, and added glitter glue for their centers.  I also used the Stickles 'Cotton Candy' to add a little sparkle to parts of the butterfly.  Unfortunately, the sparkle isn't showing up much in the photos, but it is a nice touch.

I chose - well, actually my daughter chose the sentiment from a selection I showed her.  I used a piece of Stampin' Up 'Very Vanilla' to line the inside of the card, and stamped the greeting with the same Memento ink.

I thought it would be a nice touch to bring some color inside with a couple of the tiny flowers.

And that's it!  I hope you've enjoyed your visit today.  I also hope you're enjoying a truly wonderful day.  Come back SOON!!

Other details:
     Stamps: 'Dot Butterfly' from Sweet Stamps and sentiment from Pink by Design
     Also used studio G glitter glue in yellow.
     Various flower punches.  You can use whatever fits the size for your project.
     Card base:  PapertreyInk (I think)

'Til next time...
BIG Hugs!!!
CHRISTINE

In Sympathy

Welcome, friends.  We have a week of those sometimes difficult-to-make Sympathy cards as our inspiration for you at the Card A Day Blog.  I have been enjoying using lots of my dies for my cards recently, and my card today is another example of that.

I used four different die sets, beginning with the medallion.  My initial thought was to have a sympathy sentiment in the center, but that changed when I came across my Inkadinkado inchie set of cross stamps.  I used a scrap of slightly shimmery gold paper to cut the medallion, then stamped the cross on a bit of 'Very Vanilla' Stampin' Up card and heat embossed it with Stammpendous 'Detail Gold' powder.

 

I used the same off-white paper as the circle to die cut the background and the flower.  I used Ranger Distress 'Antique Linen' ink to frame the cross, as well as to edge the flower.  I then shaped the flower petals with a stylus and assembled the pieces using a gold glitter brad from American Crafts.

 

 

Next I die cut the leaves from some coordinating scraps of green papers and formed them with the stylus as well.

 



 

When I was ready for assembly, I ran the background through my Xyron sticker maker and affixed it to the green card which was cut at 5 1/2" x 4 1/4."  I used Matte Accents to attach the leaves and a Glue Dot to add the flower.  I layered the circle and the medallion both with foam tape before affixing them to complete the card.

 



 

I think this is a very elegant and tasteful card to present to a bereaved family member or friend.  I hope it has been a good inspiration for you, and I thank you for your visit today.

 

I'll be back in a couple of days with my first card for my Guest Designer spot at Beccy's Place.  We just might have some goodies in store so I do hope you'll come back and take a peek.

 

'Til next time.....

 

BIG Hugs!!!

CHRISTINE

He Is Risen

It's less than one month until Easter, and  the Card A Day Blog is celebrating with a week of Easter card inspiration.  My contribution to this theme is a clean and simple card with some lacy elegance.  I made this card using a few dies, some larger scraps and a few gems.  I didn't quite get away with no stamping, but I kept it to a bare minimum.

The card started with a fun fold that I've used once before, but this time I used it in reverse.  You can see the other example here.  So, the first step was cutting and folding the base.  Here are two photos of the card from the back where you can clearly see the cuts.

Next, I did the die cuts using  some scraps of gold card stock.  I just love the lace cross and trim.  I used my Xyron sticker makers to affix adhesive to the lacy pieces.  Such a quick and easy way to get those pieces adhered to the base.

I used a pretty gold embossing powder for the sentiment, and then cut that piece with a lacy scallops die before affixing it to the gold lace-edged die cut label using foam tape.  I added foam tape to just half of the gold label, and adhered it to the left front of the card base.

Once I had everything assembled, the card didn't look quite finished.  I took care of that by adding some gems to the cross and label.  That did it!  Quick, yet classy, and a good style for doing multiples.  Also, it fits into a standard A2 envelope.

I hope you have a wonderful day, and thanks so very much for spending part of it with me!

BIG Hugs!!!
CHRISTINE

Where in the World?

Hi everyone!  I was doing a little organizing the last few days, and it was a good thing I did because I came across a few die sets I haven't used yet.  Any of them would have worked perfectly for today's card which is for the Card A Day Blog.  I'm starting the new theme there for this week, 'TRAVEL.'  So, I chose two of the die sets and went to work creating. 

I started looking for some paper, and pulled out some matching mat stacks.  By a lovely coincidence there happened to be some map paper in one of the stacks.  It was the paper that determined which die set I used.  The paper was printed with a map of Asia, and one of the die sets was Japanese designs.  Sweet serendipity.  Here is a look at the card:

Not wanting to load the card front with too many images, I chose just three.  I used my Xyron Sticker Maker to add adhesive to the pagoda and the gate.  Then I inked the tiny bamboo pieces and used my Zig fine point glue pen to get those pieces on the card.

I created the sentiment on the computer, cut one end in a banner cut and then inked the piece.  Once I had the card front assembled, I used foam tape to affix it to the base.  I didn't want to add too much thickness to this card, so I used the inking to give the card some dimension.  As a last touch for the front, I added some rhinestones to the gate.

The inside sentiment was also done on the computer.  I changed the font to go with the change in language.  I also added some strips of the map paper to give the inside some design interest, and I inked the inside piece as well.

 Here's a full view of the inside:

 Just in case I have any viewers out there who speak Japanese, I had my dd look up the translation of 'Bon Voyage' in Japanese.  I hope the online translator gave us the correct words and spelling.

I had lots of fun pulling this card together (well, except for those tiny bamboo pieces-haha), and I hope you've enjoyed your visit with me today.

These are the supplies I used:
          Paper:  DCWV "The Tradewinds" design matstack and cardstock matstack; Georgia Pacific white
          Dies:  QuicKutz "Japan Collection"
          Ink:  Tim Holtz Distress "Antique Linen"
          Miscellaneous:  Zig fine tip glue pen, Scotch ATG, Xyron 2 1/2" sticker maker, foam tape

See you again soon!!

Big HUGS!
CHRISTINE