Papillion Potpourri Mother's Day Card

Wow, am I late in getting a card posted today!  Since this coming Sunday is Mother's Day, I thought it would be appropriate to show this card this week.  And yes, there are lots of retired products used on this, but if you have these stamps sitting on your shelf, it's a good way to use them.  And you should use them!  Sometimes we let some really great sets just sit there, all forlorn and forgotten, when they should be seeing some ink and contributing to pretty cards! 

This card was really simple to make.  I just stamped the grass using the Inspired by Nature set, then stamped, punched, and added the butterflies from Papillion Potpourri.  And while I was certain that the Deco Labels Framelits would be on the retiring list, they weren't!  I am SO excited about this.  And guess what...there's a new set to use with them that's coming out in the new catalog!

Supplies

Stamps:  Inspired by Nature (retired), Papillion Potpourri, All Year Cheer II (retired)
Ink:  Pear Pizzazz, Raspberry Ripple, Pretty in Pink (retired)
Paper:  Raspberry Ripple, Whisper White, Pink Pirouette, Sahara Sand card stock
Accessories:  Elegant Butterfly Punch, Bitty Butterfly Punch, Big Shot, Deco Labels Framelits, Raspberry Ripple Stitched Satin Ribbon

Hey, speaking of the new catalog, let me know if I can set aside a copy for you!

Retro Fresh Thanks So Much Card

Happy Friday!  I think this has been the longest week ever.  So let's just say that it's a good thing that Friday is here.  What's even better is that the weather forecast says it's going to be 60 today.  After the last few freezing cold days, I'm ready for a bit of spring.

And speaking of spring, this card brings a bit of it as well.  It's the same layout as this card from a few weeks ago, just with different colors.  It's amazing how different two cards of the same layout can look when you change just a few elements.  In this case, I even used butterflies again, just did them a bit differently.

Tips & Tricks

• When adhering ribbon that's more than 1/4" wide, be sure to use Sticky Strip.  It's a guarantee that it will hold and you won't have to worry about it falling off.

• I love the new Tag Topper punches.  I also love using the corner rounder on the two corners when using the Scallop TT punch.  It just softens it a bit and gives a finished look that is consistent with the rounded edges at the other end.

Supplies

Stamps:  Oh Hello, Papillion Potpourri
Ink:  Tangerine Tango, Coastal Cabana, and Soft Suede
Paper:  Retro Fresh DSP, So Saffron, Tangerine Tango, Coastal Cabana, and Soft Suede card stock
Accessories:  Scallop Tag Topper Punch, Elegant Butterfly Punch, Bitty Butterfly Punch, Coastal Cabana Ruffled Ribbon

Don't forget that Sale-a-Bration ends on Monday.  If you'd like to place an order and earn some fabulous FREE products, contact me today!

Papillion Potpourri {plus a promotion!}

Wow, there's a lot of alliteration in that post title!  And good heavens, it's been a week since I last posted.  I NEVER intend to go that long.  Unfortunately, an elbow injury kept me from stamping and limited my computer use.  I'd love to say it's all better, but it's an ongoing thing that just sometimes gets really bad.  And last week was one of those times.  I'm so sorry for my long absence!

And while I'm apologizing, sheesh!  Sorry about this horrible picture!  I'm having some camera issues.  Actually, the issue is more with the user than the camera itself.

I'm not a big watercolorer (yes, it's a word...I just made it up), but I love to watercolor these butterflies.  I think these are really easy to watercolor, and anyone can make these butterflies look beautiful.  Pair them with the coordinating Elegant Butterfly and Bitty Butterfly punches, and you just can't go wrong!

Tips & Tricks

• Squeeze the lid of an ink pad while shut, and you'll end up with ink on the inside of the lid.  Grab an Aquapainter and dip it in for easy watercoloring...no special paints needed!
• Sticky Strip is your best friend when ruffling ribbon...don't bother with any other adhesive as it just won't stick long term.
• No need to fussy cut your butterflies when you can just punch them with coordinating punches! (see below)

Promotion

• Get 15 percent off when you buy the Papillion Potpourri stamp set (clear or wood mount) and the Bitty Butterfly punch!

		Clear-Mount Butterfly Bundle     $26.27 Wood-Mount Butterfly Bundle     $29.67
		Call or email me if you'd like to order this great bundle...it's only available until September 30!

Cardmaking for Kids, Part 3

This card is a variation on this one created by Elizabeth Price that I saw a few weeks ago.  Um, mine has a bit more going on...notice how the title of hers is "LIGHT Layers"!!!!!  Not exactly the case here!

I pulled out all kinds of retired colors for this card, but again, the possibilities are endless with this design.  I've actually done a version in oranges, and I love it.  This card is so easy to make, and really, there's no need to pull out the Stamp-a-ma-jig...it's not difficult to line up the skid mark stamp that is behind the butterflies, but there is no need to line those up perfectly anyway!  Super easy, super cute!

Supplies

Stamps:  Gorgeous Grunge
Ink:  Smokey Slate, So Saffron, Pretty in Pink (retired), Pale Plum (retired), and Blush Blossom (retired)
Paper:  Pretty in Pink (retired), Pale Plum (retired), and Blush Blossom (retired), and Whisper White card stock
Accessories:  Elegant Butterfly Punch, Bitty Butterfly Punch, Glue Dots

Gorgeous Grunge

Oops...I though that I had everything set so that this card would post while I was away on vacation, but somehow I messed up!  Oh well, I'll share it now instead!

This was my second attempt at a card using Gorgeous Grunge and Yippee-Skippee together.  I think I may have gone a bit overboard with the splatter stamps, but I just love them, and couldn't help myself!  This card uses two of the splatters in the set.  One of my most used stamp sets of all time is Itty Bitty Backgrounds, and the splatter was definitely my favorite.  But I think this set is going to be a better replacement, since the splatters are big, not itty bitty!  I used them on the background and on the butterflies, just to give the punched card stock a little bit of interest.  I then popped the butterflies up a bit using glue dots.  It's a great way to make an image stand out a bit more subtly than it would when using Stampin' Dimensionals.

Stamps:  Gorgeous Grunge and Yippee-Skippee
Ink:  Calypso Coral, Tangerine Tango, Crisp Cantaloupe, So Saffron, and Going Gray
Paper:  Calypso Coral, Tangerine Tango, Crisp Cantaloupe, and Naturals White
Accessories:  Elegant Butterfly punch, Bitty Butterfly punch, glue dots

{CASE} Simple Butterfly

I tend to be fairly original in my card designs, but every now and then I just need to CASE another person's work.  Some people do this all the time, and that's totally fine!  There is absolutely NO shame in CASEing a card...because much of the time, we add our own original touches to the design.  But even if that's not the case, it's the creating that counts, not whether or not the design in original to you (although it's always good to give credit to the original artist!)

When I saw this card by Mary Fish, I just loved the simple, clean lines of it.  I've been in a bit of a stamping slump lately, so I knew this was a great card to CASE.   As you can see, I've just changed up the papers and the sentiment, but pretty much kept everything else the same.  I do love her clean and simple designs, which is what attracted me to this card.  I think the paper-piercing is my favorite part!

How about you?  Do you like to come up with original designs, or do you prefer to CASE?

Stamps:  Thoughts & Prayers
Ink:  Early Espresso Stampin' Write Marker
Paper:  Summer Starfruit, Naturals Ivory, and Soft Suede card stock, Comfort Cafe DSP (retired)
Accessories:  Neutrals Designer Buttons, Linen Thread, Paper Piercing tool, mat, and pack, Elegant Butterfly punch

Blown Ink Butterflies {Papillion Potpourri}

As you can see, I had lots of fun with the blown ink technique and butterflies.  While a similar color combination to the one I used last week, this one includes Pool Party, and completely changes the look.  To make the butterflies, I embossed them with white embossing powder first, then did the blown ink, using So Saffron and Pool Party.  Because the drops of ink are going directly to the paper, it's best to go up a shade, rather than using the same exact color as your papers.

Stamps:  Mosaic Madness, Teeny Tiny Wishes, Papillion Potpourri
Ink:  So Saffron and Pool Party refills, Bermuda Bay and Crushed Curry (to dye the twine) Classic Ink Pad
Paper:  Crushed Curry, Pool Party, Bermuda Bay, and Naturals White card stock
Accessories:  Elegant Butterfly and Bitty Butterfly punches, Big Shot, Square Lattice embossing folder, Bitty Banners Framelits, Whisper White Baker's Twine, Stampin' Dimensionals

Papillion Potpourri

I've been playing with a new technique lately.  Can you spot it?  It's called blown ink, and it's lots of fun.  In fact, my kids and I are going to experiment with this a lot more this afternoon.  The cool swirls on the butterfly were made using this technique, and what's so neat about it is that it's different every single time.  I'm also loving this color combination, which is funny (to me) because when Bermuda Bay and Crushed Curry first came out as In-Colors a few years ago, I really didn't like Bermuda Bay at all.  But I guess my tastes have changed, because I love how these colors look together!

Stamps:  Papillion Potpourri
Ink:  Bermuda Bay and So Saffron Classic Ink refills
Paper:  Naturals White, Bermuda Bay, and Crushed Curry card stock
Accessories:  Big Shot, Square Lattice Embossing Folder, Designer Frames Embossing Folder, Elegant Butterfly Punch, straw

Papillion Potpourri

Here's the birthday card I made for my brand new 11 year old.  Purple butterflies were the perfect choice for her card, and like I did with her sister's card, I went simple.  I used the Papillion Potpourri set and the coordinating punches for a simple layered look.  I was pleasantly surprised at how nicely the three different shades of purple looked together, too.  I love Stampin' Up!'s color coordination! 

Stamps:  Papillion Potpourri
Ink:  Wisteria Wonder, Perfect Plum, and Elegant Eggplant Classic Ink
Paper:  Naturals White, Wisteria Wonder, Perfect Plum, and Elegant Eggplant card stock
Accessories:  Bitty Butterfly Punch, Elegant Butterfly Punch, Pearls Basic Jewels

Papillion Potpourri Double Embossing Technique

Double embossing...it's such a gorgeous technique, and I've wanted to try it for a very long time.  I finally decided to give it a shot, and honestly, it was so easy.  Why did I wait so long?   I can't wait to sit down this weekend and try it with different combinations of embossing folders.

I so wish I could take credit for this card, but I can't.  I CASEd the whole thing from Pat Coombes, a Stampin' Up! demonstrator in the UK.  Click here if you'd like to follow her tutorial on how to double emboss. 

Stamps:  Papillion Potpourri (123757), Itty Bitty Banners (126255)
Ink:  Soft Suede Classic Ink (126978)
Paper:  Soft Suede (115318) and Naturals Ivory (101849) card stock
Accessories:  Big Shot (113439), Fancy Fan Embossing Folder (127751), Designer Frames Embossing Folders (123130), Bitty Banners Framelits (129267), Elegant Butterfly punch (127526), Pearls Basic Jewels (119247)

So Sorry

Can you tell I'm really into making little 4"x4" cards lately?  For some reason, I'm enjoying the square card over rectangle.  Maybe later this week I'll have something other than a square card. :)

I recently got the So Sorry stamp set, and it's so beautiful.  I know that sounds weird, considering the set consists only of words.  But I love the scripted type style and think it's really pretty.  And with lots of options for finishing that thought, it's very versatile.  I chose just to stick with So Sorry, and I guess when I need to send this type of card, I'll finish the sentiment on the inside.  Hopefully I won't have a need to send this for a long time, though.

The butterflies from Papillion Potpourri coordinate perfectly with the two butterfly punches that Stampin' Up! carries.  I stamped them with Staz-On ink, then punched them out.  The punches work great even with watercolor paper.  I chose to watercolor after I punched, but you could easily do it before.  I'll admit that I may have ruined this card when I spritzed ink on the sentiment.  I was so upset, but after it dried, I decided to keep it.  I'm on the fence about how I feel about all that brown on there...it wasn't the look I was going for!  I highly recommend doing a test spray BEFORE spraying your project!  At least the speckling worked in the upper right hand corner of the card!

Stamps:  Papillion Potpourri (123757), So Sorry (126525)
Ink:  Jet Black Staz-On (101406), Early Espresso (126974), Tangerine Tango (126946), So Saffron (126957), Perfect Plum (126963), and Elegant Eggplant (126969) Classic Ink
Paper:  Crumb Cake (102953), Early Espresso (119686), and Naturals Ivory (101849) card stock, Watercolor Paper (122959)
Accessories:  Window Frames Framelits (129021), Big Shot (113439), 5/8" Crochet Trim (118481), Aquapainter (103954), Elegant Butterfly Punch (127526),  Bitty Butterfly Punch (129406), Festive Paper-Piercing Pack (127857), Paper-Piercing Mat (126199), Paper-Piercing Tool (126189)