Babies and Butterflies

I won this adorable Babies and Butterflies digi by Redonkulous Designs from Charisma Cardz's Recycle Challenge, and I just had to use it immediately with Mom's Circle Flip-its Sizzix Movers & Shapers L Die. 

What did I do before my BigShot die cutting machine?! For this card, I also used Spellbinders frame dies, Stampin' Up!'s Beautiful Wings Embosslits Die, and the Butterfly & Dragonfly die from Sizzix. I also "debossed" the ribbon with a Cuttlebug border texture folder. I added some detail with copper Liquid Accents.

Inspiration/Challenges:

Just Us Girls #146: Color Challenge (oops, missed the deadline!)

Platypus Creek Digitals Challenge 11: Things With Wings

Simon Says Stamp: Anything Goes

Hope this gives you a smile! Thank you for visiting,

Pile It On and...Relax!

This week at Pile It On, our Challenge theme is Kick Back and Relax, perfect for these lazy summer days.

For this fun Boy card, I used the Circle Flip-its Sizzix Movers & Shapers L Die and some papers from a pre-glittered, Kraft-core Recollections cardstock pad.

I used one of the pre-colored images from LOTV's Take it Easy Die Cut Sheet. I totally feel like I'm cheating since I didn't color it myself, but I did add the green with Copics.

I added empty stitching to the border with my sewing machine, but I hand-stitched the border around the image. I distressed the card edges and sentiment piece with Vintage Photo TH distress ink.

For the flip-side, I used Iced Tea w/ Lemon by TLC Creations (altho I've only ever used it for lemonade!) I colorized the image brown in PhotoShop, then colored it with Copics.

Making these flowers with plastic straws was as much fun as it looks! I can't find a tutorial, but basically you fringe-cut a plastic drinking straw to form a flower. That's it! To make layers, just snip the straw so that you can curl it to fit into the larger hole.

Inspiration/Challenges:

1. Charisma Cardz: Recycle [plastic-straw flowers]
2. Crafts and Me Challenge #92: Stitching, Real or Faux
3. Gingerloft Challenge #44: Fancy Folds
4. Hotshot Crafts: Distress Inks
5. Paperminutes #225: Shabby Chic/Vintage
6. Paper Pretties: Try A New Technique [plastic-straw flowers]
7. Sisterhood of Crafters: Let's Hear It For The Boys
8. Speedy Fox and Friends Challenge 116: Masculine Birthday Card [although this isn't specifically a Birthday card, I do plan to use it for my BIL's Bday]

Update: Woot woot, this was a prize winner for Charisma Cardz's Recycle Challenge!

Thank you for visiting,

Pink Princesses

Mom lent me her Circle Flip-its Sizzix Movers & Shapers L Die, and I'm having so much fun with it. For example, I made these Birthday cards for our nieces! [Sorry that the photos aren't great; it's been gray here and I just couldn't get good lighting!]

This first card was inspired by Lili's Little Fairies Pretty In Pink Challenge, so I used one of my precious, long-hoarded, pre-colored die cuts from Lili of the Valley. Using Diamond Glaze, I added shimmer to her bow and FlowerSoft to her boa & tutu.

Mom also sent me some yummy SU! papers she got from a friend of hers who's a consultant...she uses it for rosettes, so I took that tip from her. I cut the rosette with my TH die, and used my Swirl Sizzix die for the flourishes. The sentiment is heat-embossed with a Stampendous stamp on Core'dinations cardstock, and is cut/embossed with the wavy banner die from a•muse studio's Cupcake Toppers set. 

I created borders for the circles with pink Liquid Pearls. For the flip-side, I stamped the crown in pink & heat-embossed it in Kaleidoscope. The "Princess" sentiment is heat-embossed in a coral red.

My second card was inspired by the fact that our niece's birthday party is going to have a "luau" theme. I totally hoard my mulberry-paper flowers, but I sure had fun with them here! I strung the small flowers onto thread, and then carefully glued it down.

The black-and-green card base is actually a black-and-white DP that I sprayed with "Meadow Green" Tattered Angels glimmer mist. I sprayed the white pieces, ribbon, and lizard with "Iridescent Gold".

I heat-embossed the flowers in shiny green onto this great hot-pink, textured Core'dinations cardstock, then colored them in with my Copics (I know, I know, I shouldn't be using my Copics near colored embossing, but I just can't help myself!). The large hibiscus and lizard stamps are from a Recollections set, and the small hibiscus stamp is from Dilo en Español's Que Siga La Fiesta set. The sentiment is from Hero Arts, I think.

I'm entering this card into Shopping Our Stash #59: Extra Fold or Pleats [(much of this uses stash items).

Thank you for visiting,