All White... well it all started white

 This week's Splitcoaststampers sketch SC589  was a simple sketch.
I don't do simple. It just isn't my style.
The most satisfying cards are ones that started with white cardstock and I'm able to turn them into a beautiful card. All the cardstock on my card started as white.

I decided to make my own background.
Pam and I challenged eachother again. I said we should use stamp products we hadn't used in a long time. I suggested chalks and punches. She suggested dry embossing, lace and inka gold.
I wanted to do something with my chalks that was different than what I had done before. So I went to look at youtube videos. Nope... nothing new. Looks like I'm not alone in not having used them in a long time.
So I just decided to play around. I took a piece of white cardstock. I took a q-tip and "scribbled" with the chalks onto the paper.

 I then took this brick wall stamp from Unity. I stamped it with versamark ink all over the chalk, lining up the edges of the stamp with where I had previously stamped. I then covered it with UTEE and heat embossed.
This is how it looked when I had finished heat embossing it. It looked cool, but I knew I wasn't done.

 I  put the cardstock in my script embossing folder and dry embossed it in my cuttlebug. This is how it looked when I took it out of the embossing folder. Can you see the script embossing?

 I then rubbed inka gold metallic rub over the raised areas. You can see that behind the butterfly in this next photo.

The butterfly was Unity HERE TODAY HERE TOMORROW set. I stamped the butterfly with black stazon ink. I watercolored it and added white acrylic paint to the wings. The body of my butterfly was made with Aleene's tacky glue. When the glue was dry I went over the glue with black fingernail polish.
 For my punch, I decided to use a border punch. I used the border punch behind the chalked- embossed
panel. I also used it on the base of my easel card. I used flower lace with pearls in the center on the top of the card and lace with a string of pearls on the base of the easel card. There is also a layer of cheese cloth.  Brads and a rhinestone butterfly trail finish it off.

I am entering this into:
 Stampin' Royalty SR#326 challenge BUTTERFLIES 

Simon Says Stamps Monday Challenge: BUTTERFLY BEAUTY 

Word Art Wednesday's Challenge #226-227 

Sympathy Butterflies

 Unity Stamps Facebook color challenge

 Tuesday Morning Sketch Challenge

Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge: Butterfly Beauty

My friend Pam challenged me to do the color challenge. We learned today that a friend of ours, mother passed away. We both wanted to make a sympathy card. I wasn't sure if I was going to like the colors for a sympathy card, but Pam said, that is why it is called a challenge. 

My biggest challenge was finding a piece of teal cardstock. Since it is one of my favorite colors, I have used most of it up in my stash. I did find a piece of plain teal. I decided to emboss with "watering can" embossing powder and a Unity background stamp that looks like a brick wall. I tried to find it on their website and couldn't so maybe it has been discontinued. I don't know. After I heat embossed it on the teal. I ran it through my script embossing folder. I  used silver inka gold to go over the raised areas.  I also used Unity HERE TODAY HERE TOMORROW butterflies and sentiment on inside.

 The center panel is bigger than the sketch, but I had too hard of a time cutting it down because I really liked it.

 Close up of the butterflies. I painted the butterflies with gray and teal markers.

Not a butterfly in sight...

This is the card I made for the

 MoJo Monday Sketch MOJO444 and the Splitcoaststampers CC579 color challenge

My friend Pam and I added our own twist of challenges. 

She picked masculine and burlap and, I picked metal and heat embossing.

 

 I ended up dry embossing and then heat embossing on the clock. I used gray cardstock that I cut out and dry embossed, then I took versamark and went over the surface and used "Watering Can" heat embossing powder.

 The vertical panels were dry embossed using a gears folder. I took black ink and silver and went over the tops.

 The inside of my easel card shows more heat embossing. I heat embossed MFP set GEARS TO YOU.

Paper Cast Butterfly

 The Technique Lover's Challenge for today was definitely a challenge. Paper Casting.  My first project ended up in the trash and I really didn't like my second one. It is trash bound as well.  But I am stubborn and I hate giving up. So I tried a third time. Although it isn't my favorite card of all times, I can at least say I gave this technique my best try.

 Close up of paper cast butterfly.

This is for simonsaysstamp challenge to have a butterfly on your project.

Butterfly effect

 For the Anything but Cute Mixed media challenge #12 (Earth Day) 
As I started the creating process, I was thinking...
 What can one person really do to change the Earth?
 Can one person really make a difference in the world around them?

Sometimes the task seems so big and we get overwhelmed. But this challenge reminded me of the theory called the Butterfly Theory. That theory is that a butterfly flapping it's wing can change the weather patterns that can affect the whole earth.

Anyone who has seen my art, knows that I love butterflies. This butterfly from Unity Stamps is probably my favorite because it is so easy to use and make it look realistic. I usually cut the butterflies out and shape them into 3-d. For this card I did something different. I stamped them on white cardstock. I ink spray smashed the background using markers. I then water colored the butterflies with a deep blue. I added white acrylic paint to accentuate the dots on the wings. I added MEMORY MISTS BRIGHT GOLD paint by spraying the mist onto a piece of acrylic report folder and I took a plastic bag to pick up the mist and I made scrunchy patterns onto the butterfly page. I took Aleene's tacky glue and put it over the butterflies bodies to give them some dimension. When the glue had dried, I took black fingernail polish and went over the glue. I added gold flight trails for the butterflies using gold fabric paint. I wanted to include recycled supplies on my card in honor of earth day. I took a brown paper bag.(I save a lot of brown bags that I find to use on my cards)  The bag I used on this card had printed writing on it and even with the bag flipped over you could still sort of see the writing. My solutions was to add more to the bag. I embossed it with Unity's  CLASSIFIED NEWSPRINT  stamp with embossing powder that was (Watering can) grey color. I took walnut distress ink and distressed the edges. I added pearls, ribbon, lace, cheesecloth and brads to finish it off. I knew I wanted a sentiment but the sentiment I wanted to use wouldn't fit how it was stamped,(OUR DAILY BREAD DESIGNS- Scripture). So I stamped it on some scraps and cut the words apart. I hope you enjoyed reading about my card. Have a blessed day today.

Imperfect dreams

Doesn't this card have a dream like quality? Well, I thought so. I used more of the journaling cards that I got last weekend. I sprayed gold spray on the card. I added a strip of lace over where the journaling goes. I fussy cut out a flower cluster and stacked it over nesting circles. I have a green circle, a yellow tear drop circle and finally a paper doily. I added cheesecloth, lace, ribbon, pearls, and rhinestones. I really struggled with the pearls on this card. I was trying to rush and when I was gluing them down the hot glue got on the wrong spot. When I tried to move the pearls, it tore the paper a little bit. I thought of ways to fix it but decided to leave the imperfection. Because life isn't perfect is it? Why should I expect my art to be? I scattered rhinestones randomly on the card. I really like how this card turned out.

Have Faith, butterfly sketch card

I used today's Splitcoaststampers sketch challenge SC588

 This last weekend I was in the St Louis area visiting my daughter. We went to the Scrapbook Factory

They were giving away journaling cards for checking in on facebook. Those journaling cards were on my desk when I looked at the sketch and I decided to use them. When I was there I bought some new distress inks, "Dried Marigold" and "Bundled Sage" both of those were perfect for using with the cards. I was trying to go CAS, and was struggling with it. I was messaging with my friend Pam asking her is I should add sequins and she said "NO" well, I kept them off the front but couldn't keep them from sneaking their way onto the inside of the card. I was going to not use cheese cloth either but just as I was gluing the card together, I changed my mind. 

  

 A lot of my cards have a lot of dimension to them. How do you mail something thick? Answer is in a box. I made a matching box to go with the card. I used some old dp that I have had around forever, not because I was hoarding it, but because I just couldn't see using it on a card. While not my style for a card, it was perfect for making a mailer box.

Thank you Scrapbook Factory for the journaling cards.

Celebrate with color

I made this card with today's splitcoaststampers color challenge. CC578
I stamped music notes on dp that had olive colored roses on it. I stamped and masked and stamped the two iris flowers right on the dp. I colored them with prisma colored pencils and baby oil. I embossed at the bottom with a border embossing folder. I rubbed inka gold metallic rub over the raised area. I stamped the sentiment with black stazon in. I added rhinestones and sequins. I finished it off with a layer of cheesecloth and adding the metallic rub to the edges of the panels.

The celebrate sentiment works great for a card to my daughter who is finishing up her student teaching. Definitely something to celebrate. Hopefully we will have a new job to celebrate soon.

Monday butterflies and challenges

This card combines two challenges:

  The Mojo Monday sketch MOJO443 and Splitcoaststampers TLC581- Fancy Piercing

It also has some additional challenges that my friend Pam and I put on eachother. My challenge was to do the fancy piercing, and the mojo sketch and use lace.  Her challenge was to dry emboss, use quilled roses, butterflies and inka gold on the embossing. 

\

 A close up photo of my paper piercing

 I couldn't resist adding a bow and a chain with two key charms. They were just calling my name.

Dancing in the rain

I took markers that matched the colors of the raindrops in the inspiration photo. 

I watercolored with the markers onto a piece of white cardstock. I took that painted cardstock and ran it through my cuttlebug with an old fiskars texture plate. I heat embossed music in the corners with silver embossing powder. I added white acrylic paint to each raindrop. (A "c" shaped line and a dot)

 I stamped Unity's -Harmony Girl. I paper pieced the coat, boots, dress and purse. She is dimensional with hot glue popping her up. I added an ombre ribbon bow in the top left hand corner.There is a layer of cheesecloth to add texture.

 My card is an easel card. I love easel cards, because it forces me to "decorate" the inside of the card.

 I stamped the sentiment onto a piece of scrap paper that had the same colors as the main panel. I drew three raindrops with grey and blue colored pencils. (Blue for the raindrops, and grey to shade the left side of each drop.) I added highlights like I did to the embossed raindrops on the front. Can you tell by looking at the photo of the inside that these 3 raindrops are flat, unlike the embossed raindrops on the front. It is hard for me to see a difference, and I have seen the card in real life.

This card is for:
 the Unity photo inspiration challenge.
Amusing Challenge- Create your own background
SimonSaysStamp- Monday Challenge- April showers bring May flowers
Craft-Dee-BowZ- CDB36- Handmade bow
Dragonfly Journeys- April Showers
and
Eclectic Ellapu- Spring Flowers-April Showers

Thanks for looking at my card. I hope you have a blessed day.

Daisies and Dragonflies

I have been making a lot of cards lately with butterflies and poppies, so I decided to switch things up a little. I decided to do Daisies and Dragonflies. It is my turn to be the hostess for the Mixed media challenge on Splitcoaststampers. MIX-Ability 167. My challenge is to do paper piecing (twist- use paper with words on it. ) I paper pieced my dragonflies. I used 3 different little dragonflies ranging from cutesy to more realistic.

I used part of an encyclopedia page on one of the dragonflies wings. Do you see the word "MIXED"? It was from an article on charcoal as a medium. I thought that was especially fun to use on my project. You can also see "Grapho..." which was part of the same article. After I glued the pieces down, I added drops of glue and sprinkled dazzling diamonds glitter on them.

I stamped the daisies using  black stazon ink. I masked them to layer the daisies. I did burned glue technique for the centers of the flowers. Instead of coloring them with a sharpie marker, I decided to color them by painting with yellow acrylic paint. The petals of the daisies, I quickly painted with white acrylic paint. I used the stamped daisies as a guideline. Some of the petals matched, some didn't I didn't care if the lines showed or not. I was going for a more abstract look.

Thanks for taking a look.

Shabby chic butterfly card

This card is for several challenges:

Splitcoaststampers WT578 Shabby Chic card.

Our Daily Bread Design Recipe Challenge

Word Art Wednesday-224-225

and lastly for the Mod Squad Challenge Backgrounds

Well you know my style is Shabby Chic so I definitely had to play along. The shabby on my card is distressed inks, I distressed the edges of the panel. I added a layer of cheesecloth. I added gold thread in the bow. The chic part is the gold, the pearls, the ribbon, the layers and the lacy border.

For the recipe challenge I used 

O- Orange on the poppies            

D- Double ribbon bow                 

B- Butterfly                                  

D- Decorative edge border punch.

For the background challenge. The background on my card started as white cardstock. I colored on my embossing folder with three different green markers. I spritzed the folder with water and rand the cardstock through the cuttlebug. When I took it out I used distress inks and gold metallic rub to finish it. I also stamped some little green plants that if you look closely you can see behind the poppies.

Thanks for looking. I hope you have a blessed day.

SC587 coffee cup

It has been a long time since I saw a sketch and immediately fell in love with it. I usually have to work around and I learn to love it, but today I loved the Splitcoaststampers sketch challenge right away. SC587

I challenged myself to use scraps on my desk. I trimmed down some scraps, but didn't cut into a new piece for any of the panels on my card. 

 I used inka gold to go around all the panels and the black mats. I made my card into an easel card. I wanted to make the bottom of the easel look like a table that the coffee cup was sitting on. I thought the lace looked kinda like a table cloth. I used hot glut to adhere a string of pearls on top of the lace. The pearls act as the stopper for the easel.

 I made a bow with gold thread that I put in the corner. The steam for the coffee cup, I stamped and went over it with wink of stella gold. The gold panel has ink gold metallic rub on all ove the little dots. I did burned glue on the centers of the poppies. I also added little sequins to each panel.

For the coffee cup, I glued a piece of cardstock to a brown paper bag from McDonalds. I cut the cup out. I used versamark ink bad directly to the surface. I poured UTEE on top. Before I heated it, I sprinkled some gold embossing powder on top. When I heated it with my heat gun, It gave it a mottled look. I then cracked the UTEE for cracked glass technique. I used a brown marker to bring out the cracks. 

 This last photo shows how the cracked glass looks, you can also see how sparkly the wink of stella gold looks on the steam.

I had a lot of fun making this card. I hope you enjoyed reading how I made it. Have a blessed day today. I am entering this card in the Word Art Wednesday challenge.