Purple Butterfly

Such a yummy card.  I gave it along with 14 others

to a friend for her birthday.  So if you have a 

huge stash of cards, give them as gifts.  

They are unique and everyone uses cards.

Share your art!

This begins card has a white card base.

Next is a textured layered created with a

Cuttlebug embossing folder over lavender card stock.

Two sizes of Spellbinder's Lacy ovals were die cut

and lavender ovals embossed in Cuttlebug's

dotted Swiss embossing folder attached.

Cheery Lynn Design's Victorian Flourish

was cut apart and place on the oval layers.

The butterfly was cut from highlighting foil attached

to card stock using a Cheery Lynn Design.

A darker purple paper is used as an accent

under the foil butterfly.

Dragoflies and Butterfly

 Let me begin at the bottom and work my way up, just

like you would do when constructing the design.

We have a white A2 (4.25 x 5.50 inch) card base.

Next is the textured layer that is done with an embossing

folder, cut to 4 x 5.25 inches, attached to 

the pale green card stock and trimmed to a

very narrow border using a Perfect Layers ruler.

Now die cut two of Spellbinders beaded ovals in white,

then cut two pale green ovals from Spellbinders nesting ovals.

The green ovals have been textured in Cuttlebug's dotted Swiss

embossing folder and attached to the beaded ovals.

Cheery Lynn Designs Victorian Flourish was used

to cut the lovely  flourishes that are over the

pale green dotted swiss ovals.  

The ovals have been raised off the card base with

layers of paper egg carton.  One has one layer and

the other two layers.

The butterfly and dragonflies are from dies by

Cheery Lynn Designs.

A green iridescent  and blue iridescent gift wraps was glued

to card stock to make the bugs.

I just love all kinds of gift wrap for my designs.

It is inexpensive and they make such shiny pretty papers.

For card projects a little goes a long way.  I am still

using gift wrap that I bought 15 years ago!

Christmas is the best time to buy, that is when

the shiny bling-bling stuff really shows up.

You can bend the wings on the insects to give them the appearance 

of being ready to fly off the card.  On several of them I have

attached very narrow pieces of paper egg carton

to raise them off the card a bit.

Cougar

PSX made this stamp at least 15 years ago.
It is so elegant and detailed. AND
since we have these critters in our hill pasture
I have a special respect for them.
The cougar is also the reason that we
seldom hike in our pasture without a pistol.
It just isn't safe and we humans are easy prey.
We jump up and down and make lots of noise,
but are basically very slow and an easy kill for a cougar.
No idea how good we taste. ; )

The cougar has been stamped on cream card stock
with Stampendous black pigment ink
and embossed with fineline black embossing powder.
The edges were inked with Rangers Archival coffee ink.
A thread cutter was used to rough up the edges,
followed by an inking of black Archival ink
for a faux burn effect.

Under the cougar image is a medium brown
card stock that has been die cut with a
Spellbinders Label.
This is attached to the card base.
The dark green pine branches are a Cheery Lynn Design die.
Pine cones are punched from an
Emaginations punch out of dark brown card stock.
They were then tightly scrunched up and
partially unrolled. I only smoothed them out
enough to be able to see the pine cone shape.
There is a lot of texture on those little pine cones.

The card base is an ivory and light tan parchment.
It has been sponged with dark brown and black ink.
By sponging the card base and the oval of the image
the look of the card is more "pulled together".

Under God's Feet # 2

I will begin with the card base. It is
craft paper card stock. The edges have
been sponged with Ranger Archival black ink.

The texture layer is an embossing folder.
This was layered over black card stock and
a narrow border was cut using Perfect Layers rulers.

Over this layer is a band of DP from Paper Studio's
Everyday Kraft stack. Again it has been mounted
on black card stock and trimmed to a narrow border
using the Perfect Layers rulers.

The phrase has been created in PSP X. It is one
of my very favorites.
It was cut out with a Spellbinders die and
mounted on black card stock, then cut
to a narrow border with those Perfect Layer rulers.

The flourish is a single Bosskut die that is
wrapped around the phrase.

The final touch is three black rhinestones
in the upper right corner.

Isaiah 41:10

Here is a relatively simple design that showcases scripture.
The scripture was designed using PSP X.
Fonts used are CAC Champagne and ST Honeymoon.

After adjusting the size of my scripture in Word
it was printed in 2 column format.
A Spellbinders die was used to cut it out.
The edges of the die and the card base
were sponged with Ranger Archival coffee and black inks.
A very thin edging of black creates the faux burned look.

The pine branch stamp is from Hero Arts.
First I inked it with a dark green Distressed ink.
Stamp once on scrap paper and THEN
stamp on the card to give a shadow appearance.

The pine branches were cut using a Cheery Lynn Designs die.
The pine cones are the fun part. Just punching them
out and leaving them flat was very ordinary and boring.
So I tried scrunching the punched pine cone.
I really scrunched it into a tiny ball.
Then only partial smoothed it out.
That gave the little pine cones a lot of texture.
At least they look a little more real now.

Shout for Joy

A beautiful scripture matched with fall leaves. The card base is beige parchment that has a wide russet ink sponged along the outer edges, then a narrower sponging of dark brown ink. This same sponging was used on the scripture.

The patterned paper is from K and Company. It has been layered over a narrow border of rust card stock with a wider border of dark brown as the base layer.

The rust branch and leaf punched "ribbon" is from EK Success Martha Stewart line.
The glitter paper leaves are from various sources as are the leaf punches.

The scripture has been generated in PSP X as have most of the scriptures used on my cards. It has been die cut with a Spellbinder's Label die.

I have CD's availablwith 12 - 24 scriptures for sale for $7.50 - $12.50 + $1 postage. Each of these would be accompanied by a picture tutorial on the use of the CD and how to use the scriptures in Word. It would show you how to create two columns in Word, copy and paste from the CD to Word and how to size the scripture in Word. You may pick your scripture from my list which I could email to you.

There are also some inspirational phrases, fancy script basic words and short phrases and cowgirl wisdom. Your own favorite phrases and scriptures can be custom designed for as slightly higher cost. (these may become a part of my catalog and be available to others with your permission.)

More Easy Christmas Cards

Two cards with the same basic design. These are relatively simple cards, using ribbon and stickers from K & Company.

The background on the plain white card stock card base is a Sizzix embossing folder. The snowflakes are rather random and make a very versatile beginning layer.

The ribbons can be seen on the inside of the card. It has been attached with double sided tape. The joining seam is under the sticker layer.

Spellbinder made the oval, rectangle and large scallop rectangle dies used on these cards.

A Very Merry Christmas

Here are two cards of a very similar design. The construction is fairly simple when it is broken down into steps.

I began with a plain white A2 card base. The next step is to create a texture or in some cases a patterned paper layer to cover the entire card front. I used the Sizzix embossing folder with white card stock. My preferred white card stock is Georgia Pacific that is about $5.50 at Walmart.

The gold and the red metallic are from gift wrap and high lighting foil glued to card stock. Spellbinders are the manufacturers of all the dies.



The 3-D sticker in the center of the card is from K & Company. These are mounted on gold squares. The squares have paper egg carton attached to the back to raise them every so slightly over the next red foil large scallops squares.

I love the red foil scallop "shadow" under the gold scallop. To me the whole combination of textures and papers is very pleasing.

White and Ivory Snowflakes

Begin with a white card base. Sizzix made the embossing folder that was used to create the snowflake texture that was attached to the front of the card.

Cream or ivory card stock is the color of the Spellbinder die cut snow flakes that are over the texture. A very subtle simple card.

2nd Christmas Design for 2011

Here it is. I am not particularly thrilled with this design.
I like the basic concept of the letter tiles, but somehow this one just doesn't cut it.

The card base is covered with a snowflake texture that was made using a Sizzix embossing folder.

The Noel letter were cut from a Christmas paper. I used the Trixie Girl Sizzix alphabet. Spellbinder's Nesting Squares were used for the red and green layers under the letter.

The tree border is an EK Success border punch.

First 2011 Christmas Design

The first Christmas design for 2011.
The snowflake textured base layer is an
embossing folder from Sizzix.
The cute little beady-eyed penguin
is paper pieced from a Bosscut die.

The "Christmas Blessings" sign is computer generated
and then cut with a Spellbinder's Label die.
The blue snowflake border at the bottom of the card
is another wonderful Spellbinder's die.

I used the snowflakes cut our from the border to
decorate the sign and place under Mr. Penguin's wing.

Stickers and Frames

Oh my, I certainly do love these K & Company stickers.
The colors of card stock are a very light cream
and a deep royal purple.
With the purples in the stickers, it is a
perfect combination.

The embossing folder used were
Sizzix's holly and Cuttlebug's distressed stripes.
The frames have been cut with a Spellbinder's
Label and Oval nesting dies.
The frames are raised over the face of the card
using two layers of the flat part of paper egg cartons.
I cut them up into pieces that will fit under the frames.

Butterflies, Ovals and Texture

Two different textures are used on this card.
The white layer is an elaborate brocade type embossing folder
The peach ovals inside the white beaded ovals
are done with Cuttlebug's Dotted Swiss.

The metallic butterfly is from highlighting foil
from a beauty supply that has been attached to card stock.
It was made using a punch from EK Success Martha Stewart
line of punches.

The phrase was computer generated using
Paint Shop Pro X, cut out with a
Spellbinders Mega Oval and mounted on
a peach scalloped mega oval.
It was then placed in one of
Spellbinders Fancy Tags.

Lattice Over Texture

I really really like this Cheery Lynn Designs
lattice die cut. It has so many possibilities.

I had this idea. Now like all ideas the
execution is often leaves you with something
far more different than the vision in your head.
This one is OK. Not earth shaking, but OK.

The biggest leaves are a Spellbinders die cut.
The flowers and branches are punched from
Punch Bunch punches.

A Sympathy Card

Recently the husband of a very very special aunt died.
They had been married for 62+ years.
I wanted to do something extra special for my
dear Aunt Donna.

Rust and cream are the colors.
I used a scrapbook paper under the stamped phrase.
The frame was created with two Spellbinders dies
used at the same time and then embossed.
Rusty Hinge Distressed Ink was used
to sponge the outer and inner edges of the frame.

The Cheery Lynn butterflies are cut from
card stock that has been stippled with
Lumiere paint.
I brushed it on first and then quickly stipple dabbed
more of the same color on to remove the brush strokes.

The flowers and leaves are Punch Bunch punches.
The flowers have been shaped.
The leaves have been lightly sponged
the Rusty Hinge Distressed Ink
to tone down the green.
It also blends the whole of the card together.

The lowest cream layer has been textured
in an embossing folder.
K & Company scrapbook paper was used
under the phrase.

Black and White Elegance

I really really do love the elegance of
a black and white card.
The papers on these cards are from
an older stack call Formal Affair
by Scrap Works.

Note that each of the papers has been layered
onto plain black. I cut the very narrow
border with my Perfect Layers ruler.
The gross grain ribbon was attached to
the bottom two layers before
it was put on the white card stock base.

The phrases were created by me in
Paint Shop Pro X, then
cut out with Spellbinder's
Nesting Ovals.

These were very simple cards that
are easy to mass produce.

Precious LIttle Girl

Begin with a white A2 card base.
Now take a Sizzix embossing folder
and cut the textured white card stock
to 4 x 5.25 inches.
Lightly sponge with a pale pink ink.
I wanted the embossing to show ever so slightly.
Attach it to a dark mauvey-pink
card stock and trim to a narrow border.
I use Perfect Layers rulers to get
exactly the same width with every cut.

The stamped image is from an old
company called Second Star On The Right.
I don't know if they are even in business anymore.
I purchased several sheets of unmounted
rubber from them about 10 years ago.
I used glossy paper and Rangers Archival
coffee ink to stamp this precious little girl image.

The oval within an oval frame was made using
two Spellbinders oval dies at the same time.
Position as the ovals are shown on the card.
Leave the dies attached to the paper after cutting
and emboss with the soft rubber embossing mat.
Sponge a soft pink ink on the outer and inner ovals.

Use one of Spellbinders Fancy Tags 3 die cuts
that has been cut in half to make the
flourish on the thick side of the oval frame.
I cut a small part off on each end to get
just the right look.
Sponge with the same pale pink ink.
Attach to the wide side of the frame.

I use the flat parts of paper egg cartons for my
3-d effect. This design has two layers
of egg carton to get a more dramatic look.

The pale green flourishes are from Bosskut.
The very pale pink flowers are from Punch Bunch.
As you know by now I really like Punch Bunch.
They have a very good product, their punches
always punch clean and seldom stick.

Because I Care

The Quickuts butterfly is stunning with just the top layer
of the die cut over the Spellbinders Lacy Square.

A Sizzix embossing folder was used to make the
white textured base layer. A narrow border of
pale peach under it accents the color theme.

The Spellbinders Lacy Square has a center
or pale peach.
That lovely butterfly really stands out
with the rhinestones attached to the body.

The phrase was computer generated
and cut with a Spellbinders oval and
attached to a tag from their first
Fancy Tag set.

Flowers and Butterflies

Many thanks to my dear stamping
pen pal Celia for sending me a card
that was almost exactly like this one.
I was immediately inspired to scamper off
to my studio and make a card "just" like hers.
Hers was blue, her flowers were a little
different and so was the butterflies. I didn't have any
paper that would look good in the blues category,
so opted for pink.

Clear Stickles were spread on the flower petals
and the center of the butterflies. The butterflies
were punched from a pearlescent type paper,
actually an old envelope.

The embossing folder used to create the texture
on the white and the pink is a 5 x 7 from Cuttlebug.
Sure wish they would make a bunch more of those.
They are so very nice for card fronts.
This one was cut down to achieve
the desired layering.

The Lacy Square, pink Square and
pink Fancy tag are from Spellbinders.
(those people are going to bankrupt me
with all their tempting goodies, they just
never quit!)

The flower is from Punch Bunch.
Two flowers have been hand embossed to
make the petals curve, lightly covered with
Stickles and after the Stickles had dried
they were glued together.
A half pearl was attached to the center
of the flower.

Hand Embossing - lay the punched out
flower on a mouse pad or in the palm
of your hand. I use a rounded tool that is
about the size of a small pencil eraser.
Rub gently on each petal to make them curve,
then rotate the rounded tool in the center
of the flower. It should almost roll up around
the tool. Now turn it over and press in the center.

The butterflies - Stickles down the center to make the
body of the butterfly glittery.
I cut some very very small pieces of double-sided
three-D material and attached to each wing
to make them stay raised off the card.

The leafy looking flourish in the center of the pink
texture is from Bosskuts.
I use a toothpick to carefully apply
dots of glue to the places on the back side
of the flourish. Usually I use small dots of glue on
each little leaf and along the stem
to make sure that it is well adhered.

Watercolor Flower

The scrapbook papers use on this card are
from g.c.d, the Ella Blue collection. It is an
8 x 8 stack. The soft blues and the browns are
just lovely.
The card base is cover with a paper that had a frame
type border all around the edge.
I used part of the border at
the top of the band that
is in the center of the card.
An EK Success punch was used for
the double scallop border on the
bottom. A dark brown paper
from the stack was selected for
it's contrast.

A Spellbinders Label with
white card stock is stamped with
the water color technique, using
a stamp from Hero Arts.
In this case a dark blue Distress Ink from
Ranger was used for the flower and green inks
for the stem and leaves.
Before stamping a fine mist of water was
applied to achieve the water color look.
You can use ink pads, markers, or water
color crayons for the "pressed flower" look.
A second misting and stamping will
result in a shadowy appearance.

With two shades of Distressed brown inks and
a Cut N Dry sponge gently swirled around
the edges, the stamped label die cut has
and antiqued look.

The final touch is the "Thinking of You"
phrase stamped in Ranger's Archival coffee ink.
The stamp is from Hero Arts.