It's Spring Butterfly time!

Artistic Outpost has a wonderful stamp plate called Happiness that has some of the most beautiful butterflies. In honor of the fact that it feels like Spring is finally here and warming up to my liking, I created a springy feeling card.

The tag is stamped with the swirly elegant butterfly from the Happiness plate. I used my copic airbrush to add the color to the stamped image. The photo has distorted the color a little bit because IRL the background paper really blends into the tag color. I think that it is the gold around the buttons that is throwing off the color. The designer paper is a digital download called Floral Frenzy from GinaK Designs.

I used my Martha Stewart scalloped border punch. I added a narrow piece of beige loop edged ribbon for a little bit more detail as I was trying to make the sentiment on the tag be the focal point of the card.

I am teaching myself to make these darling crochet flowers and I have finally gotten it down pretty well. I learned to do some basic crochet stitches growing up, many years ago, and never learned to read a pattern. I follow the pattern as best as I can and then make it work for me. It is pretty close to the way it is supposed to look. I think it fits nicely on this card and the color matched perfectly.

That's it for tonight. Have a great one.

Cathy

I'm Back Sleep is highly overrated!

Okay, I know it is late, but I am pretty much on my usual schedule :0 I just had to show you one more card tonight. I have been playing with my Happiness stamp plate from Artistic Outpost tonight.

I absolutely love the background that I created using a tutorial that my "friend" Theresa showed on her blog the other night. The tutorial can be found here.

I had colored this image a while back and never made a card out of it yet, I guess it was just waiting for this background. The ribbon was white grosgrain ribbon that I dyed with my SU re-inkers. It is Baya Blue and it matches so perfectly the weathered wood distressed ink by Tim Holtz that I used for my sponging.

Because I wanted the beautiful butterfly and the striped background to be the focal points I didn't add too many other embellishments except the blue dew drops in the left side border.

I will have more tomorrow night because I got a new stamp plate called Keeper from Artistic Outpost today, always the kind of mail that I like to get! Now I really should go to bed because I do have to go to work in 6 hours.

Have a good day everyone!

Cathy

Elegant Happiness Butterfly

I love the Happiness plate from Artistic Outpost. I usually color in all of the butterfly detail but tonight I decided to try for a monochromatic elegant look. I think I succeeded.



I stamped the learn how to fly butterfly stamp using white craft ink from Stampin Up on craft cardstock. I stamped the background small detail stamp in white craft ink as well. I then sponged the edges with the white craft ink. I let that dry for about 15 minutes. I always forget that step and usually mess up my white image.

I mounted the craft layer on white cardstock and used my ticket corner punch from SU to round in the corners. I mounted the butterfly layer and white onto the beige tan cs.

To finish the card I used K & Company half pearls for the corners, a medium size in the corner and a tiny pearl just inside the punched line. I added 3 larger half pearls to the right side of the sheer white ribbon and tied a bow on the left side. I added half pearls for the butterfly body and three tiny pearls to the first middle and last letter in Happiness.

This is such a versatile stamp set and I just love working with it. I know you will see a lot more creations using this set here. If you like what I have done with this set and would like to see what other designers have done with it as well, check out the Happiness Gallery on Artistic Outpost.

I may see you later with another card, we'll have to see how finishing my "team cards" goes. Thanks Theresa and Megan for confirming my design choice, I can always count on you two.

Cathy

More Happiness and Butterflies

Okay, it is cold here today and butterflies make me think of spring and spring makes me think of warm weather, warm weather makes me warm right? WRONG! It is freezing so here is a beauty I have been working on today. I decided that today I would play for me and not do any Christmas Cards or Release projects What do you think?

I seem to be doing everything in oranges, black and brown laterly. Oh, well I guess they are fall colors. I colored the butterfly using the copic Gradiant technique and the colored in the butterflies in the filmstrip. I added one side of the file strip to the top and botton of the two larger images stamped the end section between the film strip sides (sorry,it is hard to explain which part of the stamp I used so you could duplicate it) and stamped along the sides of the image

Once I have my film strip segments stamped on I airbrushed the images and borders with beige, orange and yellow copic markers. I finished the card off with 3 orange snaps at the top right and left botton sides for a little added interest in the dark unused sections.

I kinda like how this turned out.

Have I mentioned(only about a 100 times) how much I am enjoying working with the Artistic Outpost stamps. This set is from the Happiness stamp plate. So many options in each set. Keep watching I am just full of ideas for these sets.

Starting on Wednesday December 10 we will begin the sneak peaks for the December 15 Release at Artistic Outpost. I have some really fun projects and I have seen the projects the other girls have in store for you as well. You're gonna like what you see.

I can't believe that it is only 9 p.m. and I have already posted my nightly or bi nightly blog page.