Butterflies and Winner

As you all know, the Mid- Atlantic States were hit with a blizzard yesterday. I spoke with a couple of family members who live in the areas where record snowfalls were predicted. One brother, in VA, received around 30" and another, in PA, about 12". VA brother that was hit the hardest never gets snow with this accumulation - poor guy, I wouldn't want to be him digging out! Ironically the PA brother has a monster snow blower that would have chomped through the 30" easily. I was very fortunate. The storm blew out to sea right below us so we skirted this storm. Yeah ... I only have a shovel. LOL Seriously speaking now - for all of you in VA, MD, DC, PA and NJ who were hit with this blizzard, I hope and pray you all are safe and sound.

I believe everyone is ready for Spring to arrive sooner than later. I know I definitely am! Can't wait for my flowers to bloom again but also shed some of these heavy clothes! In honor of Springtime thoughts and the Late Night Stampers weekly challenge for butterflies, I made this card.

This card features the new Stampin' Up designer series paper "Shades of Spring" in the Occasions Mini Catalog. The bold design screamed butterfly to me so when the challenge came out, I knew what I was going to use.

Using my Big Shot, I cut the butterflies out. To create the body and antenna's, I used half-back pearls and the flower stamina's from the Pretties Kit. Using a sponge, I inked the tips of the antenna's and sponged around the edges of the butterfly.

Now these little beauties are attracted to flowers so of course I had to have one. The flower is from the "Blooming Beautiful" set. A section of the same sheet I cut my butterfly has an almost transparent image reflecting the bold one. That was perfect to stamp my flower on.


Here's a side view. The ribbon is the White Satin which I colored with my Orchid Opulence marker to match the paper.








Of course being one to never leave the inside undone, here's the inside. I carried over the colors and used a scrap which fits this card perfectly. Plenty of room to write a message as well.





Last Sunday I made this darling candle set and offered it up for blog candy. Random.org picked the number 10 -

Jonia said...How beautiful the flower is and I just love the candle and holder. Tremendous job. What inspires me when I have had a stressful day is to come home and make a cute card or flower. It calms me and makes me forget everything except what I am doing.

Jonia please send me your mailing address (kasully@verizon.net) and I will get this out right away. Thank you everyone for visiting my blog. It is greatly appreciated.

Stanley Update

On December 27th, I posted on this blog about the men and women who took just one moment out of their busy lives to help save a dog named Stanley. Click on here for the original post. I have been following Stanley's story to see how this wonderful guy is doing with all of the positive changes in his life now. He is living in Canada! I am overly thrilled to report that he is happily in his foster home and recuperating from his past. His foster family is nothing short of amazing in their capacities for healing, loving and training the "Bully" breed dogs. Here he is all snuggled up in his new bed -

To read about his travels and road to recovery, go here. There are several entries re: Stanley. Please do leave a kind word for these fantastic people. Rescuers do their work tirelessly, giving their hearts and souls to help the innocents that are harmed by humanity. If you can, go to your local shelter and help them. Walk and play with the animals, show them good humans do exist. If you are inclined to have a pet, look to your shelter first. Please do not perpetuate the problem by buying from a "Pet Shop" or "Breeder."

All Things Vintage and Blog Candy

Over at Late Night Stampers this week's challenge has been Vintage. This is right up my alley ... LOVE vintage items. Come in my home and you will see what I mean. LOL

Earlier in the week I made this card. Where did the inspiration come from? I had one of many long days this past week. To unwind and get a refreshing perspective I was reading one of my favorite authors - Epictetus. He was a Greek Philosopher from 60 a.d to 120 a.d. Great insights into why people are who they are and how to interact with them without losing yourself.

Well I had been mulling over several designs; some even ended in the recycle bin. Yes, they were that bad! But then it hit me, make a card with a book on it! They're out there, some gorgeous ones in fact! So in honor of Epictetus, I made a card.

"From my garden ... From my heart" is such an appropriate title for this. Don't we all plant seeds through life and watch them blossom into wonderful things/beings - family, friends, pets, etc. Hey what can I say, this author is exceptionally uplifting!

Onto a lighter note - I was traveling along reading blogs yesterday and saw a wonderful idea. Dare I say it? Yes I read lots of non-Stampin' Up blogs! The inspiration is astounding and I love converting the ideas using Stampin' Up products. Jane Johnson and Camilla, this one's for both of you!

I love making gift items along with packaging. The hat is from "Garden From the Heart" set. I colored the stamp with markers, stamped on tissue paper, and heat set it to the candle.

The packaging is clear transparency around the candle with a top and bottom made. Taking two strips of coordinating card stock, use the Eyelet Border punch. Layer them and sponge ink on top layer. I adhered the lower trim right to the transparency to stabilize the bottom.

Using the new Jumbo Flower punch, I created this gorgeous flower. There are five layers to it! I made the flower using Blush Blossom cardstock but I wanted a two-toned flower. To create the Rose Red accents, I made my own Glimmer Mist using Stampin' Up's Glimmer Mist Paint. Mixing it with alcohol and a drop of reinker, I made the perfect shade to match the flowers on the candle. Spritz the flower and while it is still damp, you can add more shape to your flower. I finished it off by using a flat back pearl from the Pretties Kit.

The gift card is made using the same items, Shimmer Mist and Garden From the Heart stamp.

Now for the Blog Candy, I am giving this candle set away! I'll be drawing the winner using Random.org on February 7th at noontime EST. Leave me a comment telling me what inspires you when you've had a particularly stressful day. Please make sure your email address is included so I may notify the winner immediately. Until then, have a wonderful week. Spring is getting closer!

Unusal Request

Someone I know is going through a rough patch in their relationship. Their heart is to the point of breaking. It is really is upsetting for me to see anyone go through this pain. I was showing this person some cards I had made and the request was thrown out if I could make a broken heart card. Definitely an odd request but never one to step down from a challenge, I started mulling it over. Here is what I came up with -

I created the heart in Stampin' Up's gorgeous Groom cardstock. Now one would ask why black? Two reasons really, the end of a long relationship is on the horizon which reflects a death and I wanted the contrast to the red hearts. The red hearts depict a steady healing of one's heart becoming whole again. Consequently the white rose is included for purity.

There is no stamping involved in this card and all items used are Stampin' Up.

How Do You Design Your Cards?

This question came up when my friend Becky came over to make cards. We have a blast creating; time flies. We thought only 2 hours had gone by but in fact 5 had! Becky is struggling with me to get into more Sketch Challenges. Quite frankly, they terrify me! So she pulled up a sketch - where did it come from Becky? - and said, "This is the one we are doing."

Now I learned something new while deciding on my card. I always get the colors out and then stamps to use. Usually there is a design in my head but I am robotic - colors and then stamps. Becky gave me an even bigger challenge. Pick a stamp and go from there. Worry about colors later. Oh boy ... little did she know I would have 50 million questions. LOL I kept wanting to change the layout. But that is against the rules with sketch challenges.

Here's my card ...
Stamps: Stampin' Up Farm Life and Country Morning

I water colored the images, Becky did the shading around the farm scene and I did the chick. The colors for card stock are Whisper White, More Mustard, Pumpkin Pie and Basic Black. The designer paper is from the Stampin' Up's Patterns Designer Series Paper. I think the Black Gingham ribbon just fit perfectly with this design.

Inquiring minds want to know how you design your cards. Love to hear from you. Becky thank you for the challenge. I will try to do more challenges. VBG (very big grin).

Valentine's Day - Part II

Thank you everyone for your wonderful comments and emails regarding my card and paper flower. So many of you asked - "How do you make these?" I made the same card, in a different color scheme, to create the tutorial. It is now posted here. Or click on tutorials on the upper menu above. You can easily read it or print it out.











I always do the inside of my cards as well. Please do share your creations. I'd love to see them.

Valentine's Day

On the Late Night Stamper's group, the weekly challenge is Valentines and an emphasis on masculine ones. It's a challenge all the way around for me. LOL On Shelly's Blog, the monthly challenge is Valentines as well with an emphasis on using non-traditional colors so I made this card to cover both challenges.

I received some new products on Thursday and put them to work today. The Scallop Trim Border punch (#118402) is from the Sale-a-Bration catalog. This baby is FREE with a $50.00 purchase. Love it! The flower was made using the new Extra Large Fancy Flower punch (#118073) for $15.95 in the Occasions Mini Catalog. As much as I love these new punches, my favorite in the catalog is the clear mounted stamps. The sentiment used is from the Well Scripted stamp set (#118601(c), #117072(w)) using the clear mounts. For now on when I list a stamp set's number, there will be two - c for clear and w for wood. Isn't it great having the option?

I used Rich Razzleberry, Almost Artichoke and So Saffron card stock. That was my personal challenge - using the color yellow. It has always been a hard color for me. Not sure why but anything requiring yellow can throw me into a tizzy. Using these colors leans more towards a masculine design. I know there is a flower but I know a lot of men who do enjoy getting flowers sometimes. What do you think? Leave me a comment and let me know. Thanks!

Other items used:

Stamps: Tres Chic
Ink: Rich Razzleberry Classic and reinker
Tools: Big Shot, Finial Press embossing folder, Little Leaves die, Crystal Effects, Snail, Full Heart punch, 2-Way Glue Pen and Pop-Up Glue Dots.