AnnaBelle Stamps Challenge

I'm really grateful for all the sketch challenges that are helping me get my birthday cards made this week! This time, it's a clean and simple sketch from AnnaBelle Stamps (ABSC054).

I used a Sizzix Texturz Backgrounds plate on the Creamy Caramel card stock; it's a subtle impression that I like on that expanse of "clean"; unfortunately you can't see it in the photo. I printed up a page full of these colored butterflies and cut them out the other night when I couldn't sleep -- might as well get something accomplished in the early morning hours!! The butterfly is coated with Ultra Thick Embossing Enamel and adhered to a panel cut with a Ribbon Tag from Spellbinders; birthday stamps are from Gina K. Designs. I lucked into finding a ribbon in my stash that matched really well.

May be back later if I get another one done!
Betty

A Butterfly Birthday

 This is my entry for the Freshly Made Sketch Challenge #54. Background paper and white band was embossed with a Cuttlebug folder. The colored butterfly is a computer printed file and (as my friend Mary Anne K. did recently) a layer of ultra thick embossing enamel was applied to the top of the butterfly to give it a nice shine and a bit of texture. An added bonus is that the tips of the wings  turned up slightly when heat was applied.

Here is the sketch; hope you will be able to play along with this challenge.

Adios,
Betty

Butterflies

I was a little to late getting this card made for the sketch challenge at Freshly Made Sketches but will try to do better this week. Don't you just love this brilliant butterfly? All I had to do was print and cut it out. I had two others cut out but they were too large for the space so I had to stamp a couple of little ones (Martha Stewart stamp).  They are all popped up with dimensionals. The brown "leather look" background was leftover from my first attempt at the cowboy card I posted yesterday and adding the blue made it perfect for the Designer's Choice Challenge at Repeat Impressions, to use the colors brown and blue. I colored the pearls with a Bic marker to match the butterfly. I thought a sentiment on the front might distract the eye from the butterfly so I decided that I would stamp the inside when I decide how it will be used.

I was honored to have the vintage collage card that I made for the Roses December Challenge featured by Karen at The Graphics Fairy yesterday. It was also nice to have lots of visitors come by my blog to get the details of the card. Thanks, Sue, for giving us Roses a great challenge and thank you, Karen, for showcasing my card on your blog; your images made it possible to create my collage card with relative ease!

I know it's Tuesday but I'm working on Papertrey Ink's Make It Monday today. Hope you'll come back tomorrow to see how it turns out!!
Betty

Another Give Away from Melanie

You really need to check out Melanie Muenchinger's blog post here. She is giving away one of her latest stamp sets, "Make a State-ment" and also gives a very unique way in which to use the butterfly in the set. Here is her card:

Isn't her card fantastic???  The butterfly on my card is from Stampin' Up but it has a similar shape to the one in Melanie's set so I was able to take Mel's idea and make a card of my own. (When I win this set, I'll be able to use Mel's butterfly instead!!  I'm thinking positively, you see!) The sentiment comes from Melanie's set "Inspiration Mosaic". On the inside of the card I have used the birthday sentiment from Gina K. Design's set "Inside and Out". It says "May your birthday be filled with yesterday's memories, today's joys, and tomorrow's dreams." -- I love that!

I have to confess that on my first draft of this post I put my card directly underneath Melanie's and her gorgeous Copic coloring really washed my card out, so.....I decided to put the written explanation of my card first!! What can I say, she's the famous designer and I'm not!!

Here is the card I made:

This will be a birthday card for someone in our church and believe me, there are a lot of folks here with a lot of life in their years. My DH plays tennis with a fellow who just had his 91st birthday! And DH's tennis coach is 87 years old, walks a mile every day, then rides his bicycle for another mile, gives tennis lessons and goes out dancing in the evenings!! There's a lot to be said for life in Chapala, Mexico!!

Adios,
Betty

Embossed Butterfly

My husband picked up a business card the other day, thinking that I might like to use the embossed butterfly on a card and he was right! I used Gina K. Pure Luxury cardstock (except the border for the butterfly is Stampin' Up cardstock from my scrap paper) and designer paper from the Gina K. Designs Spring Mix StampTV kit. Greeting is from Gina K, You are Not Alone. Greeting cut with Spellbinders Die, Ribbon Tag Trio 2. Ribbon is from Big Lots.