Bluebells

This is proving to be an excellent year for bluebells. Indeed, there are some growing on the bank opposite my craft room window.

The photograph was taken one evening last week. The dramatic lighting was accounted for by the fact that the sun, low and bright, was shining over us, but a rainstorm was rapidly approaching.

I was inspired to make a bluebell card for Butterfly Challenge No 7, the theme for which is butterflies and a doily.

I used my Wild Rose Studio bluebell die, and one of the papers from the "Bluebell" paper pack, also by Wild Rose Studio. One of the papers in the pack is a gorgeous all-over bluebell design, which I had thought to use, but it would have overwhelmed the focal elements. Instead I stamped some bluebells and a little butterfly (both Chocolate Baroque) on one of the plainer sheets from the pack, and coloured them with Promarkers. The die-cut butterflies (Cheery Lynn)  and the bluebell diecut were also coloured with Promarkers. The doily is the French Pastry die, again by Cheery Lynn.

I was hoping to give the impression of butterflies fluttering amongst the bluebells, just as they have been doing on the bank outside my window this week, but they are mostly Orange Tips, which I haven't managed to photograph yet as they rarely settle for long. I was able, however, to capture this beautiful song thrush today as it surveyed the garden from its vantage point on the shed roof.

And the prize is....... !

Time to reveal the gorgeous goodies which will be winging their way to this month's lucky winner at Stamping Sensations!

There's still plenty of time to enter, and as our May theme is "ANYTHING GOES" (as long as it includes some stamping, as we are of course a stamping challenge) it couldn't be easier. The DT have some extra mid-month inspiration for you over on the Challenge Blog, so if you're stuck for ideas, do have a look.

My project is a Post-It Note cover. I really like making these, they make such lovely little gifts.

Hadn't made one in this style before, so I followed Kimberley Crawford's tutorial here. I used Wild Rose Studio papers, and the butterfly stamp, die and sentiment are all by Prickley Pear. I coloured the butterfly with Promarkers.

Think I will have to make some more of these! Thanks for looking!

Glamorous Butterflies

Just flying in by the skin of my teeth with an entry for this fortnight's Butterfly Challenge. The theme is "Glamorous Butterflies", so they have to glitter and sparkle!

I began by spraying the card with diluted Chipped Sapphire Distress Ink, then stamped the flowers and sentiment with the same ink (undiluted). The butterfly was stamped on a separate piece of card and cut out with the matching Hero Arts Framelits die to give a bit of dimension. I used a water brush to draw some of the ink into the flowers and the butterfly for a hint of colour.

 All that remained then was to add the glamour! I tend not to use a lot of shiny stuff on my cards, preferring a subtle sparkle to bags of bling, so I just added a bit of glitter glue to the spots and body of the butterfly and the centres of the flowers. I hope that's enough for Mrs. A! You can see it better in the following detail shots.

 

The flower and butterfly stamps are by Hero Arts and the sentiment by Stampingallday. Thanks for looking!

May Challenge at Stamping Sensations

Wow, what a lot of fantastic entries we had for last month's challenge at Stamping Sensations I guessed it would be a popular theme, and I think the same will apply this month, because for May:

*****  ANYTHING GOES  *****

Your project must include some stamping, as we are of course a stamping challenge, but other than that it can be anything you like, on any theme. You can enter up to three times, and combine your entry with any other challenges.

For my card I've used some Crafty Individuals stamps which I bought ages ago but have never inked up until now. I don't know why, as they are really very pretty. Probably just didn't have a suitable occasion to use them. The patterned backing paper is from a recently released Papermania pad called Bellissima, again very pretty in lovely soft shades.

I stamped the main image twice so that I could cut out and decoupage the two hearts. Then I stamped the perfume bottles on a Spellbinders Lacy Circles diecut, having sponged some colour around the inside edge of the diecut with pigment ink.

I added a few glittery highlights here and there with a clear Wink of Stella pen, and some liquid pearls on the "jewels" and in the corners. Other supplies used were a Martha Stewart punch-around-the-page set, a Dovecraft tiny butterfly punch and Promarkers to colour the images.

We're going to keep you guessing for a while as to this month's prize! Rest assured, however, that it will be fabulous as always, and all will be revealed later in the month!

In the meantime, don't forget to check out my lovely teamies' gorgeous samples on the Challenge blog, and we look forward to seeing your entries. Thanks for looking.

Baby Cards!

No, not congratulatory notes for newborns. It's the missives themselves that are miniature! I found some cute little 3" x 3" blank cards in The Range the other day and couldn't resist them. I like making things on a miniature scale. I also wanted to try out some new stamps I got recently, from Art Journey and Stampinback, so I decided to see if they and the cards would work together.

The cards are so small that they would be swamped by lots of embellishments. Instead, I opted for one-layer designs. Having first masked a border around each card, I sponged the backgrounds with pigment inks and then, with the masks still in place, stamped over with various meadow/grasses type stamps (mostly by Inkylicious apart from one which I've had for years which has no ID, though several companies now produce the same image in varying sizes).

Next I removed the masks and stamped the main foreground images. The bottom ones in the above picture are by Stampinback, the top ones are by Art Journey. Had to have a butterfly in there somewhere (Justrite), and finished the cards with sentiments by Personal Impressions.

 Here are a couple of them close up.

Having finished the baby cards I thought I would make a larger version. Same details, except that the sentiment is by Hobby Art.

 And here is the big one and a baby one! Cute or what?!

A Butterfly Stepper Card

Following my win on the Butterfly Challenge, I was thrilled to be invited by Mrs A to make something for a guest DT slot. So here it is. The theme for the challenge is to use a charm on your project (along with a butterfly, of course!). I haven't made many stepper cards before, and the design for this one evolved by trial and error!

Having got the base sorted, I covered it with papers by Prima (Fairy Belle collection) and then simply added various elements to complete the design. The circle & butterfly circle were cut with Nestability dies, the larger butterfly dies are by Cheery Lynn, and the tiny one is a Dovecraft punch. Leaf punch by Leone Em, flowers by Prima. The sentiment was a freebie from Simple Cards & Papercraft magazine. I added some glitter glue to the butterflies, and brads to the flower centres. The little charm says "believe". I've had it in my stash for years, just waiting for the right project to add it to!

I really enjoyed making this project, so thanks, Mrs A for letting me be a guest DT for you!

Dies and Punches at Stamping Sensations

For our April Challenge at Stamping Sensations we would like you to show us what you can do with your

***** DIES AND PUNCHES *****

Your project can be anything you like as long as it uses punched and/or diecut elements. And some stamping, of course!

Our fab sponsor this month is once again PDA Card & Craft, who have very generously donated a whopping £40 voucher to be spent either online or in their shop in Langley Mill, which is on the Notts/Derbyshire border.

PDA are well known for their quality cardstock, which they supply in just about every shade and type you could possibly want, but they also sell a huge variety of craft materials, so the winner of this fantastic prize will be spoilt for choice!

Anyway, on to my project. I've called it "Spring Triptych", and have used both dies and punches.

I began by cutting an A4 sheet of card into three equal pieces and trimming one end of each with the Britannia Dies Small Lattice Edge. While looking through my patterned paper stash, I came across some that I've had for so long I'd forgotten all about it! If I remember correctly it came from Lakeland, when they had a craft section, in a pack with some glittered butterfly and flower stickers. I thought it would be perfect for a Spring project, with its tulips and butterflies, and pretty Spring colours. I traced around the edge of the lattice die to hand cut the paper to fit the top of each panel. (The die only cuts the outer edge.) I didn't want to cover up the paper too much, so I just added some diecut shapes (Spellbinders Labels 4) and some tiny punched butterflies. On the two outer panels I stamped a tulip (Stampin' Up)  and the centre one has some punched flowers and leaves and a sentiment (Inkylicious).

   

Once each panel was complete, I inserted some eyelets and joined the panels together with narrow ribbon. A spot of glitter glue on the punched butterflies and flower centres provided the finishing touch.

A little aside here! When the trend for diecutting first started, I wasn't interested. I certainly didn't intend to spend a lot of money on something that I might use once or twice and then stick in a cupboard, never again to see the light of day. At the time, I was running a card making class, and some of the members had bought Cuttlebugs. They were soon raving about them, and wanting to use them in the classes. I resisted for a while, but then I discovered Spellbinders dies and was impressed by the effects you could get with them. I gave in and got a 'bug of my own. And promptly fell in love with it! Of course, since then the variety of types and styles of dies has just grown and grown, not to mention that of machines, both manual and electronic. I remain faithful to my 'bug, though. I don't feel any need for larger dies, or electronic cutting. I can do everything I want to with the Cuttlebug, and a great many of my projects contain at least one element produced by it. It has never let me down. I can't see why on earth I would want to trade it in for a smarter model .....

My creative teamies have a gorgeously eclectic selection of samples for you over on the Challenge Blog, so do go over and be inspired. Last month's Pink theme was very popular, and I reckon this one is going to be equally so. I'm really looking forward to seeing lots of entries, so dig out those dies and punches and get cracking! Thanks for looking.

PS. Just realised this also fits the Butterfly Challenge (No. 4), so I'm going to enter it there.

Spring Butterflies

 It's a Spring theme for the Butterfly Challenge No. 4, so Mrs. A would like to see yellow on our projects. Had to think about this one for a while, as yellow is not a colour I use very often. However, though I don't like bright acid yellows, I do love the spring flowers, such as daffodils and tulips, and I think that the more muted shades of yellow, coupled with fresh spring green, can be very pretty.

I decided to use a technique which I first saw done by Julie Hickey in her book "Flower Power Papercrafts". Julie used punched flowers for her card, but I have used my favourite butterfly dies (by Cheery Lynn) to make the openwork panel. A simple sentiment (Hero Arts) was all that was needed to complete the card.

Here's a closer look at the butterfly panel.


















And another view of the card.



The daffodils are all out here now, both in our garden and along the bank across the road from our house. Not much sun in evidence lately though, so the cheery daffs are doing a sterling job of brightening up the view!

Butterflies and Stitches

Here's my entry for the Butterfly Challenge No. 3, which requires some stitching on your project.

I've stitched the centre panel on to a panel embossed with the Stampin' Up Tulip embossing folder. Papers are by Wildrose Studio and the sentiment is by Chocolate Baroque. Butterfly Punch origin unknown.

And here's a closer view of the details:

Thanks for looking!

Butterfly Challenge No. 2

I was delighted and very lucky to find out that my entry for the very first Butterfly Challenge was drawn as the winner! I have been extremely busy with work and other non-crafty things lately, but didn't want to rest on my laurels, as it were, so I was determined to get an entry in for Challenge No. 2, for which Mrs. A would like to see Butterflies, Buttons and Bows.

It was very quick and very last minute, but here it is!

Background paper: Prima
Butterfly stamp: Prickley Pear
Sentiment: Stampingallday
Ribbon & old button from my stash.

A couple of close-ups:

Must dash! Thanks for looking!