Hang in There!

Welcome to the weekend, my friends. It is feeling so much like spring here in Texas, I am just so enjoying making these beautiful  "springy" cards.  The challenge this week at the Classy Cards 'N Such blog, is all about Flutterbys-butterflies and birds. This butterfly card fits the bill, and showcases some of the wonderful products available at the Classy Cards online store.

I started this card with a sheet of Stardream Rose Quartz metallic paper, cut in half to form two A2 size card bases. I then used one of the Darice Stripe Background embossing folders and my Cuttlebug machine to emboss the front of the A2 card. With the fold of the card on the left side, I highlighted the left and right of the card base with Dark Bark chalk ink from Prima.

I then stamped the Coneflower cling stamp from Impression Obsession on some Neehnah white card stock and colored it in with my copic markers. I then trimmed around the image leaving a very small white border, and used 3-D Zot Dots to adhere it to the front of the card.  I cut one of the Ecstasy Crafts Sm. Faerie Queen Butterflies from some Stardream Fuse Azalea metallic paper and backed it with a sheet of Heavyweight Velllum. When the glue was dry I trimmed around the die-cut with my scissors, and highlighted several of the openings with my Wink of Stella Brush Pens with Clear & Gold glitter.

To finish off the card front, I stamped a sentiment from My Craft Spot's "Feeling Better Soon" clear set on a banner tag, and tied it to the front of the card with Maya Road Twine Cording in the Sweet Candy color.

The following products used, are from the Classy Cards "N Such Online Store:

Stardream Rose Quartz metallic paper TPC-120:403

Stardream Fuse Azalea metallic paper XP-730177976

Heavyweight Vellum paper TPC-189

Darice Stripe Background Embossing Folder DA-1217-64

Coneflowers cling stamp from Impression Obsession IO-H16010

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend, and will visit with me again soon.

Mindy

The Caged Bird Sings

Greetings, and Happy Friday to one and all!  Today's post is a mixed-media canvas celebrating Spring and the Weekly Challenge at Classy Cards N' Such blog.  

The topic this week is "Flutterbys" celebrating birds or butterflies, or both!  

I started with my Bird Sanctuary die set from Spellbinders SB-S5-033, also available in the Classy Cards N' Such Online shop.  I have had this die set for quite awhile, but haven't had the chance to try it out yet. After cutting it all out with my Cuttlebug machine, I started arranging pieces to fit my 8" X 8" canvas.  I dug through some of my "scraps" of die cut images I keep from when I try out my dies, and found a frame from the Romantic Rectangles Spellbinders die. So after smearing out some of my favorite colors of Golden Acrylic paints on my canvas, I stamped my Music All Over Background Stamp from Impression Obsession, on the canvas in brown Memento ink. I then attached my rectangular frame in the top left corner with a little adhesive and two turquoise brads. I then adhered a strip of the Spring Market printed paper from Websters Pages to the rectangle with foam tape to give a little more dimension.

I then started attaching my Bird Sanctuary die-cuts on top of the frame.  There was a beautiful bird cage, some greenery leaves, two small birds - one with dimensional wings, and a decorative greenery border.  I also added a 3-D Mini Daisy from Sizzix and Susan Tierney-Cockburn, left on my desk from the "Flower Garden Challenge" a few weeks ago. A decorative button topped off the bird cage after attaching the leaves and bird.  After my "arrangement" was complete, the lyrics from a poem by Maya Angelou kept repeating over and over in my mind; "I know why the Caged Bird Sings."

After adding the phrase, I still needed something decorative in the top right, and bottom left corners of the canvas.  I dug out one of my Prima Stencils and applied a little molding paste to the corners. I let everything dry overnight, and when dry, I colored the molding paste with Dark Bark chalk ink to antique it just a bit and tone down the "whiteness".

I hope you enjoy my canvas as much as I enjoyed making it. I love all types of winged creatures, from butterflies and birds to dragonflies, ladybugs, and bee's.  I guess that is another reason I enjoy Spring so much. It is an awakening of sorts, a new beginning of life, both in plants and creatures, after the cold bleakness of winter.

Chill Out, Take It Easy

Chill Out Folks, Take It Easy! Spring officially starts today, and I am looking forward to warm sunny days and evenings so nice you can sit outdoors and "Take It Easy"!  

This is a card I submitted in the Texas Independence Day Card Challenge at Deadbeat Design Stamps the first of March. I started by cutting a piece of lavender card stock 4" X 5 1/4", and using the Relax Background Stamp from Deadbeat, stamped an all-over background using Versamark clear embossing ink and Lindy's Stamp Gang Two-toned embossing powder to cover the card.  I then took a large heart shaped Spellbinders die and cut-out the heart shape in the middle.  Using another white card stock piece, I used my Gelatos to add sunset colors and then with a baby wipe blended the colors to make the evening sky. Then, by stamping the adirondack chairs stamp from Deadbeat Designs, I colored them with my copic markers and fussy cut them out. Using 3-D pop dots, I adhered them right inside the heart cut-out. I also added a few flourish swirl die cuts from Memory Box in a purple translucent paper, and added the banner on which I stamped one of the phrases from the background stamp, "take it easy".

I saw this card base done on YouTube, listed as a File Folder Card.  Using my We R Memory Keepers Envelope board, the indention's cut at the top of the card make it look like a triple-cut file folder. Something different to send your friends and family.

Have a great day, and enjoy the weather, if it is nice where you are.

Friend, you are Amazing!

Hello, friends! It is a New week, and Spring is just one day away. I am so happy that the weather has been sunny and warm for the last few days, it makes me want to get outdoors and work in the yard, planting flowers that will draw butterflies and birds into "my space"! But, according to the weatherman this evening, there is more cold weather and rain ahead in the forecast.

The Classy Cards N' Such Challenge of the Week this week is "Flutterbys", and I just love butterflies! I started this card with a piece of printed paper from the Spring Market Collection from Websters Pages, that has small butterflies on it. I cut two larger butterfly dies from Mandarin Curious Metallic and Onyx Stardream Metallic card stock, available in the Classy Cards N' Such Online Store.  I used my Copic markers and Wink of Stella glitter pens to color in various areas of the dies to make them seem more realistic.  I then cut the word "Friend" die from a scrap of the Mandarin Metallic paper and stamped "you are amazing" below it.  I tied a length of twine three times around the card spine before tying a square knot, which finished off the card front. 

The supplies used from the Classy Cards online store were:

WP-WPK-31 Webster Pages Spring Market Collection Combo Pack,

TPC-577 Pluto-Onyx Stardream Metallic,

TPC-772 Mandarin Curious Metallic Card Stock

I hope you enjoy the final days of Winter, it has been such a long, cold, and devastating time, the hot, dry, 100 degree days of drought cannot be far behind.  

Mindy

Count Your Blessings

Greetings All! Enjoying the bright sunshine this afternoon, after a few days of cold and dreary weather. Wishing for rainbows and flowers that show in the spring.

Today's post is a bright and cheery tag, reminding you to "Count Your Buttons (. . .and Blessings) everyday!
The base tag is from one of Julie Nutting's Tag Pad. I used my Gelato's from Faber Castell to draw circles on the tag.  Then using a moistened baby wipe, I blended the colors together to make a colorful background. As I blended the colors, the background started to look like a rainbow, so I decided to enter it into the Classy Cards N' Such blog weekly challenge #23 Rainbow colors.  I started embellishing my tag with the French Lattice small die from Cheery Lynn Designs, sold in the Classy Cards N' Such online store. I cut it from Neenah white card stock, and also ran a piece of the same card stock through my Cuttlebug machine with several Cuttlebug embossing dies.

The little girl image and sentiment is from the Pure Innocence line of stamps from My Favorite Things, titled "Cute as a Button".  If you have ever ordered from My Favorite Things, you probably know that most of their embellishments, buttons, papers, and felt are all color-coordinated so they blend well together. I colored the girl with my Copic markers and then adhered the corresponding color of buttons on the lattice work to match the rainbow.  I then cut the embossed paper into strips and attached them to the tag.  The sentiment and large button at the bottom was attached with foam tape to give the tag some dimension. To complete the tag I added a decorative ribbon bow to the top.

Bright and cheery colors always put a smile on my face, and help me feel much better. I hope you all have a nice weekend and can enjoy a few days of warmth, before the next COLD BLAST comes through.
Mindy

I Love Texas Bluebonnets

Card #2 of my entries in the Classy Cards N' Such blog Weekly Challenge : Rainbows (or colors thereof). I used one of my New dies just received from Deadbeat Designs, the I Love Texas die, and two of my bluebonnet stamps.(Texas State Flower-starting to bloom now!)also from Deadbeat Designs.

I saw this technique done last week, and fell in love with it, and knew I must give it a try. I started by cutting an A2 size card front from Neenah white card stock.  I centered the Texas shaped die on the white card, and ran it through my Cuttlebug machine. I shook out the "innies" and set them aside. I then stamped the bluebonnet flowers on the card front, using colors the flowers are grown in;  blue(most common), burgundy, and white Memento inks. To highlight them, I used my twinkling H2O's and gave them a darker shade, and a little sparkle.  While the H2O's were out, I used the rainbow colors of  ROY G BIV (described in a previous post) to color each of the letters punched out by the die. Again, I put these aside to dry. I drew three lines of barbed wire through the images to look like fencing, and added some light blue dots across the top of the card to represent clouds in the sky.  I also used my white Posca paint marker to highlight several of the bluebonnet flowers.  

I trimmed 1/4" off two sides of the white card, so a small border of the Lapis Metallic base card would show, and attached the white panel to the dark blue metallic card. I then adhered the multi-colored letters back into the die cut image, as you would place pieces in a puzzle. To complete the card, I stamped the phrase "Mosey on over, friend!" to the lower right corner.

The following supplies, available in the Classy Cards N' Such online store were used to make this card:

TPC Stardream Lapis Pearlized Metallic Paper

Twinkling H2O- Basic Rainbow Set #H2kit13-28412

I hope you will pop on over to the challenge blog, and check out the inspiration, and maybe even submit a card or two of your own.  Enjoy, and I will visit again with you soon.

Mindy

Love is in the Air!

Today's card is one of my entries in the Classy Cards N' Such blog Challenge of the Week; Rainbows (and colors thereof).  I have combined the challenge with St. Patrick's Day, which is celebrated early next week.

I have titled it "Love is in the Air" so after I painted my rainbow on the front of my card, with my PanPastel chalks, I stamped tiny hearts in coordinating colors on each stripe using Memento inks.  I didn't have a shamrock stamp, so I pulled out my heart shaped Fiskars hand punch, and punched out six hearts from white card stock.  I colored them green with Copic markers and then stamped a decorative heart design on each punched heart shape.  To assemble the shamrock, I glued the three hearts  to a stem shape using white glue from Art Glitter. Of course, it dries perfectly clear in 15 minutes or so.  I also stamped one of my favorite cloud stamps from Deadbeat Designs around the rainbow, then added a little white from my Posca paint marker.

For the sentiment banner, I stamped a saying from My Favorite Things on white stock, and then adhered to a stripped label.  Using foam tape, I adhered it to the front of the card and overlapped the shamrock shapes using foam tape and a 3D Zot Dot.

The following supplies used are available in the Classy Cards N' Such Online store:
PanPastels Flower Coloring Kit- #PP30115
Art Glitter Clear Adhesive-NM-DDCA

I used the color code phrase that most artists use when organizing and coordinating their colors to "build" my rainbow. It is: ROY G BIV. (Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Indigo, Violet) Early on, I was instructed to make a sign for my studio with that phrase, so that I could use it as a reminder when using color on my projects. I did as I was told, and it is amazing how many times a day I glance at my sign when creating.  Give it a try, and enjoy your Art!