PASTOR CARDS--BEES AND BUTTERFLIES

A few weeks ago I went to a StampinUp garage sale and scooped up some bargains including two gently used stamp sets, one coordinating punch, some 12x12 dsp, a pad of dsp (used here) and a Paper Pumpkin.  I'm so glad SU is offering these smaller dsp pads which are perfect for cardmaking.  What a great variety of colors and patterns!

Now that summer is almost over, it's time to restock our pastor's supply of cards.  Shown are two of the four I made today, all using the dsp pad I bought--super easy.  All four were different, two with a bee and two with a butterfly.

I'm looking forward to getting more dsp pads in the future!

FAUX METALLIC

This was a fun and easy card to make. 

First I sponged green and blue Distress Inks onto a white cardstock panel.  Then I brushed white Perfect Pearls over it to give it a metallic look.  After using a 3-D basket weave embossing folder, I mounted it to the card with foam tape.

The flowers were already cut and colored in my stash, so I just added the sequins and glued it to the card front.  The "blessings" die cut was also precut and glued to the panel also.

This will make a nice encouragement card for someone.

Family Vacation at OBX

Having a wonderful time at the beach...lots of sun, swimming and Duck Donuts! We even watched dolphins leaping out of the ocean in front of our beach house three times so far this week--what a treat! No sharks, thankfully. The Outer Banks is a wonderful spot to spend a week with all three generations of fsmily. It's been very relaxing... Lots of card ideas to try when we get back...

Beachy Birthday

Since our son-in-law will be celebrating his birthday the day we all gather at the beach for a week of sun and surf, I used the same design as the previous post.  I wanted to use the sand dollar in place of the bird, so I used beach colors.

I think it turned out a little bit more masculine!

CASEing the Catalog--Bluebird

Once again, I used the SU catalog for my inspiration.  This time, for a second card on page 25.

This time, I turned my bird into a bluebird and used some blue cardstock and sequins to bring in more of the color.  Before assembling, I splattered some brown ink on the front using a technique I learned from Julie Ebersol on YouTube.  She mixes ink with a little water on her acrylic block and then flicks it off with a wet brush.  Works like a charm--so thanks, Julie! 

CASEing the Catalog Again!

Once again, I "stole" ideas from the SU catalog.  I just loved the softness of this card--it seems fresh and light for summer.  The card is on page 25, and  I CASEd it almost exactly.

This is also an example of using whatever sets you have that are similar in duplicating the look.  Mine is from Simply Sketched for the blueberry branch and Touch of Nature for the bird.  Since the bird's legs were too difficult to cut out, I drew legs for my bird directly on the cardstock and glued the bird over them.  (Much easier!)

The striped border is from the English Garden dsp collection and matches the bird color perfectly.  I added the jute and a tiny black gem for the eye, and I also used a pale green card base instead of the white shown in the catalog.

Stay tuned for more catalog CASEing as I keep looking for ideas!

CASEing the Catalog--Butterflies

SU catalogs are so helpful when you run dry on ideas.  I just look through the cards, whether I have that particular stamp set or not, and go for it.

This card is CASEd from the one on page 107.  Their card with the butterflies in circles inspired a design of my own with the butterflies on top of the circles.  Using the Boho dsp really helped keep it coordinated.

Their card is square, and they used the negative punches for the butterflies.  Mine is rectangular, and I used the positive punch outs with another small butterfly on top.  For embellishments, I used purple gems for the bodies and a turquoise sequin on the banner.

I just love the bold colors in this dsp collection!

MORE BUTTERFLIES

The panel on this card was made with overlapping scalloped ovals of SU dsp, glued to a scrap of white cs.  Before coating it with one layer of clear embossing powder, I ran it through the Big Shot to give it some texture.  Then I mounted it to a black panel, tied the embroidery floss around it, and popped it up on the card front with foam mounting tape.

Next I stamped the greeting, added some sequins, and punched out a butterfly.  I drew in the antennae, added a black gem "body" and painted the wings with clear Wink of Stella.

Here's a closer look at the embellishments and shine on the butterfly:

AND THE WINNER IS...

...BONNIE KLASS!

Congratulations, Bonnie.  Your card will be in the mail tomorrow morning!