Butterfly 1

The card stocks used on this card are
light peach and white.
There is a very fine border of peach beneath
the textured layer. (done with embossing folder)

Spellbinder's beaded oval was cut and
embossed in white.
I attached the flat part of paper egg
cartons to the back to attain
the 3-D look.

The oval in the center of the
beaded oval is in peach also.
It was embossed with the Cuttlebug
Dotted Swiss folder.
I really do like the dainty dots on this folder.

The fragile flourishes are from
Cheery Lynn Designs Victorian Flourish
die. This die is a real pain to cut,
BUT look at the results. Just stunning.

Now for the butterfly.
The die is another Cheery Lynn Designs beauty.
It has been cut from highlighting foil.
This can be obtained from most beauty supplies.
Spray glue either text or card stock weight
paper and attach the thin foils.
We at Wild Women of the West Stampers
spent one whole Tuesday wading up foil,
unwading it and attaching to papers.
We all liked the texture of the crinkled foil
more than the plain shiny that it was
when we purchased it.
It is well worth the effort.
It is also considerably less expensive than
buying metallic papers.

Cheery Lynn also makes a matching solid butterfly
to put under the delicate lacy one.
In this case I used the light peach paper and
lightly sponged it with
Ranger's Distress Ink, Rusty Hinge.
The edges were also sponged again to darken
them even more.

I am very please with the end result
of this card making endeavor.

Double Gate-fold Cards

Three variations for
the double gate-fold card.
This card is sooooooo easy and
can be as detailed as you want to make it.

I got this idea and the instructions
from Technique Junkies
Fancy Folds and Motion Paper Crafts CD.
Great CD. I can highly recommend it.

The base for the card is 5 1/2 x 12 inches.
Score for folds at 2, 4, 8 and 10 inches.

All of the papers used on cards in this post are from
DCWV Citrus Stack and Citrus card stock stack.
Punches are from EK Success and EK Success
Martha Stewart line.
Some Spellbinders Labels have been used as well.

Wheat Thank You

I work for Nebraska Agricultural
Statistics Service. One of the many
different thing that I do is called
Wheat Objective Yield.
This involves me going out into
15 to 20 wheat fields every summer and
setting up small sample plots.
Every month I do counts of the
stalks of wheat, check maturity and
send small samples to a lab for examination.
From all of this data that I send in,
Nebr. Ag Stats and USDA can
make a fairly accurate estimate of
the wheat harvest.
While wheat harvest is over,
I am now involved in
Corn Objective Yield and am preparing
to go out into some corn fields and
set up sample plots.

The above card is the thank you
that I made and sent to every
farmer that allowed me to play
in their wheat field.

The wheat in the oval is embossed
with a goldish emblossing powder that
I got years ago from Think Ink.
Then the shadow wheat
stamped on the card base are
Distressed Ink Straw.
These where ink, stamped on
scrap paper and then stamped on
the card base for a very light shadowy image.

All of the sponging was done first with
Rangers Archival Russet and then just the
very edges with Rangers Archival Coffee.

The thank you is an unknown stamp.

I used two different Spellbinders Label dies
to cut the corrugated cardboard.
I think I like the second one better.

The Lord Is My Strength

Here is another of the very detailed
and delicate cards that were inspired
by a card I received from
from my stamping pen pal,
Celia M.. She had no clue
what she started. This can be very obsessive.

The phrase has been designed in PSP X.
Spellbinders is the maker of the delicate
die cut square. I used two different
embossing folders. The flowers
and leaves are from Punch Bunch.

Cowgirls Rule

This has to be one of my favorite stamps.
These cowgirls are just so cute.
The images have been colored with
colored pencils and blended with
baby oil on a blending stump.

The phrases are computer generated.
The dies are Spellbinders and Bosscuts.
Faux snake skin has been used on the
2nd and 3rd cards.
Most edges have been sponged with
a dark brown ink.

The Lord is my strength

Let us begin at the beginning.
A purple card base.

Next layer - white card stock
in an embossing folder, lightly
sponged with a lavender ink, cut
to 5.25 x 4 inches.

Die cut the label, sponge the edges
with that lavender ink and glue
something to the back for a 3-D look.
(I prefer the flat part of paper egg cartons, inexpensive
and I am reusing those egg cartons)

Place a purple oval in the center of the die cut.

Use a rectangular die cut on the computer
generated scripture.
Sponge the edges with the lavender ink.
3-D it with pieces of paper egg carton or foam and
attach to the purple oval.

Place punched or die cut flowers
and flourishes as desired.

The flourishes at the top and
bottom of the first die cut layer are
a Spellbinders Fancy tag that I cut in half
and attached. It has
been sponged with the lavender ink too.

I do like the combination two colors and sizes
of flowers. I used a medium lavender
and cream for my flowers.

Center Step Cards

After two frantic weeks,
I am able to return somewhat to blogging.
There are still some very time sensitive
surveys and Wheat Objective Yield
sample plots to work in a week.

I found the instructions for this fun design on
the Our Daily Bread Designs blog.
It was featured a few weeks later on Splitcoast.

If you have any questions about products used
please leave a comment.

Inscribed On The Palms of His Hands

This has to be one of my very favorite scriptures.
For this card I used PSP X to layer by layer
create the scripture. It was then cut out with
a Spellbinders die. Pale pink ink was sponged around
the edge of this die cut and the inside and outside
of the frame.

Punch Bunch punches were used for the flowers and leaves.
The flowers were shaped with a rounded tool.
Stickles pearl was used for the centers of
the flowers.

Note that the embossed bottom layer has
been sponged with the pale pink ink as well.

The scripture and the frame have been raised
off the card using layers of paper egg carton.
This creates a stunning 3-d look that is
far more pleasing to the eye than
simply attaching the pieces to the card front.

A Few Variations

These are variations of the design from the
last post. Fun, fast and pleasing to look at.

Move the flowers around, use different punches
and die cuts, use scrapbook papers and
unusual textures.

A Little Variety

As you can see I am still playing with my Cuttlebug "thanks" die cut. The flowers have been cut with a Quickuts die and a punch. Paper were all taken from the same stack.

Now why am I making all these "thanks" cards? I have given 15 cards and envelopes to the pastors wife and 10 cards and envelopes to my daughter, all using this die cut thanks. AND I have a bunch more sitting there waiting to be given or used.










Are you an addicted card maker with a huge stash? Give cards and envelopes as gifts. I have sister-in-laws that have everything they could every want. Buying gifts for them is absolutely impossible. The past few Christmases I have gotten out my card stash and told them to pick the 20 cards that they want for their gift.











Another use for all of those cards that you are making for your "therapy" is as a ministry in your church. I give cards to both the pastor and his wife and frequently send cards to members of the congregation that are ill or experiencing problems.

Charlene asked for it,

so here it is:

The Thank You series.

This big flower is a Quickuts die cut.



















And more thanks.













Thanks and the Spellbinders labels with vase and flowers













A little vintage look.














Bright and cheery thanks.

A Get Well Card

Don't know anyone that is sick, but it is nice to have a Get Well card on hand just in case.

The phrase is stamped on scrapbook paper, the flourishes were stamped at the top and bott0m and the edges of the Spellbinders die cut were inked with dark brown ink. This little gem was then layered over another die cut and flourishes by Quickutz added.

The embossed paper at the top of the card is from Cuttlebugs A2 folder line. A light sponging of medium brown ink was applied to highlight the embossing. The paper on the bottom of the card is again scrapbook paper from DCWV.

Tomorrow's Dreams

This is such a lovely birthday greeting. It could go on the inside of the card as well.

All of the die cuts are by Spellbinders. The paisley embossing is from a Cuttlebug A2 folder. I used a Distressed Ink pad to color the solid side of the plastic folder and then ran it through the Cuttlebug to emboss.

The edges of the phrase and the paisley label have been sponged with the green ink.

Bettye's card

I had such a lovely surprise in the mail today. My friend Bettye Smith checks this blog fairly regularly. She put a note in with the card, saying, "Your quilted card inspired me, but had to use what's available. Sizzix Puzzle die cut, Swirl die cut and a tag punch. Had to share my inspiration you gave me from your blog.

I really really do like everything she has done with this card. The metallic gold outlining of the puzzle parts makes them pop off the card. The swirl and the photo corner are great accents that add finishing touches to an overall pleasing design. That little tag is just so cute too.

Great job Bettye!!!! AND I loved getting a card from you in the mail.

Now I want that puzzle die, LOL.

Die cuts, stamps and paper

With some great dies, high quality stamps and gorgeous paper you can create so much. Dies by Spellbinders, stamps by Our Daily Bread Designs and papers by DCWV.

The pieces on the far left and right are a Spellbinders Borderabilities that has been cut in half. I do like the framing effect that it gives.

Hope this has inspired some of you. I have certainly had a great time creating with these tools.

Everything Beautiful

Oh, oh, oh, oh........I have been having sooooooo much fun. Our Daily Bread Designs stamps that I got myself for Christmas. (yes, I was a VERY good girl, just ask Santa), Spellbinders Labels and Pendants dies and DCWV Tahiti stacks.

The perfect adhesive backed half pearls are from Creative Impressions. This was a very fun and elegant card to create.

Nativity Card

What a fun card to make? I had to save just one to look at all through the year.

This is a die cut set from Quickut. I have no idea if they are still selling it. I got it over a year ago.

The card base is a tan with a mountain scene stamped in a tan that was several shades darker. I did use a gel sparkle pen on the star.

Tri Fold Shutter Cards 2

The papers for these cards came from a DCWV stack. I love stacks for this type of card as the paper coordinates.

The tutorial for this card is on Split Coast Stampers, as great resource for stampers. I was going to tell you to do a search, lucky for all of you that I went into Split Coast and tried their search. It does not work. So here is the link to the Tri-Fold Shutter Card. Here is how I found it, I opened up the home page for Split Coast Stampers and left clicked on "Resources" at the very top and to the right side. This brought up a list of all their tutorials in alphabetical order. They even have a picture of the project to help you find the correct one.

The directions call for you to cut a piece of card stock 5.5 x 11 inches. With scrapbook paper that leaves you with a 1 x 12 inch strip. I drew a line down the center of the BACK of the strip and cut with the ripple decorative scissors. Those strips are the border trim on either side of the cards. From two pieces of 12 x 12 scrapbook paper I got 4 cards and the trim. Nothing was wasted.

Using laser printer acetate:

1. talc the acetate

2. stamp the Butterfly and Flourish (Heartfelt Creations, HC217D) and emboss with fineline

black embossing powder

3. Carefully cut out the image that you have just stamped and embossed on the acetate

4. Now stamp on acetate and emboss the single plain butterfly from the set, using EK Success's

Paper Shaper large butterfly, punch out this butterfly. Clever Heartfelt designer, Emma Lou

Beechy has sized the butterfly to the size of the punch.

5. I carefully applied glue from a glue pad and glittered the back of the butterfly. You could use

markers, or punch another butterfly from some glitzy paper and attach to the back, there are

are all kinds of options, use your imagination!

6. As this is a slick surface, glue does not hold very well. My solution is to rough up the butterfly

and flourish image on the butterfly portion. Both on the front and the back where I will be

attaching this gives it more "tooth" and the glue will hold much better. You can rough these

areas as they will not show on the finished card.

7. Attach punched out butterfly to butterfly and flourish image. After the glue has dried attach

it all to the card.

A few notes here: flowers and smaller butterflies are for the most part punched from glitter papers.

Why use laser printer acetate? The Laser Printer Acetate or transparencies is designed for a laser printer which uses heat to apply the ink. So you can use you heat gun to emboss the embossing powders with out warping the acetate.

What about inkjet printer acetate? These transparencies work fantastic for regular stamping. There is a rough and a smooth side to the acetate. Stamp on the rough side with most inks. As always, try the ink out first by stamping a small image in one corner to see how the ink and the transparency interact. Some inks will run or not dry. You can NOT apply heat to these acetate transparencies as you can the laser transparencies.

Sympathy Card

This is a fairly basic and easy card. The mottled looking background is Polished Stone Technique.
I stamped the "With Sympathy" with VersaMark and embossed with fineline black embossing powder. The stamp is made by Stamps Happen, Inc. I love the font that they used, very elegant yet easy to read. I have no idea who is now making these stamps or even if anyone is.

The image was stamped in the center of the polished stone then carefully cut out as a rectangle. It was then mounted on black cardstock and using the layering rulers a border was cut. Next cut down your original polished stone piece. On this card I made it 3.75 x 5 inches, layered onto black cardstock and cut a narrow border with a layering ruler. Attach the layer phrase to the center of the larger piece, now attach this all to your card base.

The classic flourishes are die cuts by Cuttlebug. On the upper left I folded the die cut over the spine of the card and glued it to the back of the card. On the lower right the die cut is folded over the edge of the card opening and glued to the inside of the card.

Playing With Die Cuts

I certainly do like the Spellbinder's Nestibilities dies.

The edges of the scrapbook paper that is used to cover the card base have been sponged with dark brown. This adds depth and softens the edges.

Inkadinkadoo is the maker of the stamped image in the center. I used a metallic brown embossing powder.

Hope some of you get some ideas for using your die cuts from this card.