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!

FORAL Z-FOLD CARD SAGA

This card gave me some trouble, and it took me a couple of hours to get it under control.  Here's what happened:

I came across a previously folded card in my stash, apparently left over from a class I did on Z-fold cards.  No problem there.

After deciding to use these beautiful roses from Penny Black's "Petal Power" and stamping them on white cs, I colored them with colored pencils.  No problem there either.

Next, I stamped the leaves with Peeled Paint Distress Ink and fussy cut them. Still no problem.

Then the "fun" began:  I decided to add the pre-printed vellum as a background, coloring the back first.  Then I added a clear liquid glue on each side and mounted it to the front panel.  That's when the problem started--the vellum curled away from the paper!  I kept pressing it back down until it dried and finally adhered to the cardstock; but then, the cardstock began to curl too!  Unbelievable!  I was beginning to feel like I had entered the Twilight Zone as an I Love Lucy routine!  The paper just kept getting more warped.

Finally, I added another piece of cardstock on the back of the panel, using double-stick Scotch tape, to give it more support.  By then, a couple of hours had passed and it was time for bed.  I stood the card up and turned out the lights, hoping for the best.  The next morning, it was better, though still a little warped.

If you'd like to receive this card for yourself, just leave a comment and I'll pick a winner (or loser, depending on how you look at it) on August 1st.  Hopefully, it will flatten out in the mail!

ANOTHER BUTTERFLY

I LOVE BUTTERFLIES...

...CAN YOU TELL?

I made a bunch of these at once.  Here's how:

Using the SU Papillon Potpourri and Versafine Black Onyx ink, I stamped several on watercolor paper.  Then I colored them using a variety of  Distress Inks and daubers.  Then I used the coordinating SU punch and added tiny black gems for the body.  For the antennae, I used colored wire, twisted it once to form a loop at the bottom and attached them to the back of the butterflies with glue dots.  I then shaped the wire with my thumb nail.

For a final touch, I brushed each with a Wink of Stella pen. The dsp is from SU, and each butterfly is mounted close to its corresponding color.

Bonnie's Background

Thank you Bonnie, (Stamping with Klass) for encouraging us to use a dark background once in awhile.  The dark cs used here really dramatizes a simple flower image from a Fiskars clear set I got at Hobby Lobby.

I used Twinkling H2O's to watercolor the clear embossed image.  Then I added a few sequins, stamped the greeting and mounted it tilted-ly (if that's a word) to the brown textured cs which I first attached to the white card base.  It's now ready to use for a quick note.

This whole card was super easy--thanks, Bonnie!

CRAZY BIRDS

Every once in awhile we do what I call a "stamp in" where we bring some white cardstock and stamp images from each other's sets that we don't have.  Then we take them home to use on a card.

Jackie had the Tim Holtz set of Crazy Birds that we just fell in love with, so I stamped a bunch of them to color later.  This one is perfect for belated birthday cards.  In fact, the facial expression is so cute, you almost want to be late on purpose!

I colored the bird with colored pencils, then drew the deflated balloon free hand, adding the string "attached" to his wing.  The birthday hat is a Jolee sticker.  Before mounting the image to the card, I die cut the scalloped circle around him, added a handwritten message and sponged the edges with green ink.  After stamping the belated bd message inside, the card was on its way.

A WORD ABOUT THE MINISTRY OF CARDS

Yesterday, Gail, one of my friends at Bible Study, paid a visit to someone I had made a card for a few weeks ago who is battling cancer.  She told me that when she got there, she saw that my card was on display as a continual encouragement to the lady who had received it.  When I heard that, I was just blown away.  I'm so glad Gail called and told me that because I know people like to receive cards, but never realized just how much it can mean to someone.

Here are a few suggestions in making cards more meaningful:

1.  Make it timely.  A quick response to someone in need underscores your care and concern.  If you didn't hear right away, you could start with "I just heard..."

2.  Keep it simple.  It doesn't have to be a long letter.  In fact, based on my own experience, it's easier to "digest" a brief expression at a time when it's hard to concentrate.  This is one case where less is more.

3.  Be Yourself.  No need to be eloquent, just be personal.  If you knew the person who died, for instance, mention something positive that you'll remember about them, even if it's just their smile.

4.  End with something encouraging.  I usually include a short Bible verse and the assurance that I'll be keeping them in prayer, if appropriate to the person.  Otherwise, you could say that you'll be thinking of them.  BTW, if I use a Bible verse, I always put it on the front of the card so that when it's standing up on display the verse is visible.

I hope this helps take some of the apprehension out of sending words of encouragement!

THE CARD YOU HATE TO MAKE

One of my friends just lost her 36-year-old granddaughter, so this is the sympathy card I made for her.  After I finished it, I started another card (previous  post) to add to my collection.  I no sooner finished that when I got a phone call from another friend telling me that yet another mutual friend just had to put her dog to sleep.  Since she lives alone, it's an even sadder loss.  As if that wasn't enough, she also told me that another friend just got the news that her breast cancer has returned.

I hope the saying that things happen in threes is true!

ANOTHER PEG STAMPS CARD

The other day, two new embossing folders arrived in the mail.  They are 3-D folders and what fun!

This one is a basket weave which I used for a floral arrangement.  To make the basket, I used the label punch and snipped off the point on the bottom.  After punching out some "ferns" with a Martha Stewart punch, I taped them to the back of the basket to hold them in place.  I then mounted the basket to a rectangular piece of cs.

Next, I proceeded to "fill" the basket with leaves and flowers using my peg stamps until I was satisfied with the look.  I then added the dragonfly and painted the wings with Wink of Stella for a little sparkle.  Since the dsp I used had triangles, I added three rhinestones in a triangle to finish it off.

This card went out to a friend who had to have her dog put to sleep yesterday.

Bohemian Birthday

This turned out to be a simple masculine birthday card.  I used my MISTI to line up the diamond stamps on the left.  I kept the stamps on the cover, but moved the paper each time so that everything came out straight up and down.

To line up the birthday greeting on the acrylic block, I first lined it up (smooth side up) on my grid paper.  Then I pressed the block, which has grid lines etched on one side, onto the stamp so that I could keep it straight along the diamond strip.  To finish off the card, I mounted the panel with dimensionals on a light green card (looks white here) and added the sequins.

I've added a few new tools in the Tower lately that have really been a help.  My faves are the MISTI, the magnetic platform for the Big Shot, and the mint-colored B plates which I no longer have to hunt for on my table.

PASTOR CARD SET

This is the card I designed for our pastor to use as a follow-up outreach for VBS.  He sends a little note to the non-church families who bring their children to our VBS program.

To make this card, I first stamped the verse and ran it through the Big Shot with the rectangular die.  The dsp strips were then cut at 1 1/2" wide to completely fit underneath the curved opening.  (To find the width you need, measure from the top of the curve to the lowest point.  Otherwise, as I learned from experience, you'll have a gap.)

After cutting the SU Pear Pizazz cs 4 1/4" x     4 3/4", I die cut the curve and attached all the pieces to the card front as shown.  The leaf was cut with a die I bought at Hobby Lobby last year which has an outline die and another insert that embosses the veins in the leaf at the same time.  (Sorry, I don't know the company name.) I sponged the leaf with Distress ink and attached it to the card with a SU dimensional.  The pearls were added in one strip and curved to match the opening. 

Although time consuming with so many steps, this was an easy card to make.

WAY TO GO, KRISTEN!

This card is for my granddaughter's graduation party tomorrow.  I used the sentiment from Cheerful Critters and made the flower from scraps on my table.  I'll be enclosing a gift card, of course.

All 4 of our grandchildren excelled in school this year, and we are proud of them all.  (Insert grandma brag here...)  Kristen will start High School next year.  Elliot also "graduated" from Kindergarten, Owen goes up to 5th grade, and Freddy will be a Senior looking at colleges.  WOW!  Where did all those years go?

We are truly thankful for all the Lord has been doing in our family, Christian schools and churches.  It is a wonderful blessing to watch your children and grandchildren grow in the Lord, especially now that they all live close by.