A Flurry of Butterflies

I love butterflies because they carry the message of hope following a struggle. After nearly 11 months of COVID-related restrictions and concerns, with more months looming ahead of us, HOPE is something we can all use right now. I realized yesterday that with a busy work schedule the last few months, plus DT responsibilities this last month, I’ve not participated in one of my favorite challenges named the Butterfly Challenge, for a while. So I got busy last night and this morning and made three butterfly-themed cards.  Two of them will be added to gift packet of cards I’m making for the pastor and others at our church (so I left the insides blank so they can use them as desired.) Sadly, the third card will be sent to the family of a cousin who passed away last week from COVID. David was only 64 years old. He was a beloved dad, grandpa, brother, cousin, and friend who will be missed by so many. He is also the first “statistic” I’ve known personally, and my heart goes out to his family.
 
The sponsor, Mrs. A provides easy to follow instructions for making a creative fold card, which changes with each challenge. The current creative fold is a Flag Fold Card. My first card features this fold, which was really easy to make! The background on the card front, printed on kraft cardstock, is from a digital coloring book. I'd signed up for a weekly newsletter a while ago from Dover Publications and have appreciated that it regularly emails links to a half dozen coloring books and activity books, each offering 4-5 pages that are available for a short time as free downloads. This image, which includes butterflies, was one of the pages available in a recent newsletter. (Sign up for the sampler newsletter to start getting your own treasures!] After copying the image, I easily used my standard Word program to reduce it in size to fit an A2 card.) The front butterfly is from a die I’ve had in my stash for a while but is the perfect fit for this card. I added color to the wings with scraps from a lavender plastic document folder. (These wonderful items come in a pack of assorted colors and can be found in the office supply section of most stores and from some dollar stores! I really like using them on my cards because they're cheaper than colored vellum and are more translucent.  You can write on them with a fine-line permanent marker or white gel pen. The plastic is also easy to fussy-cut with a nice, sharp pair of scissors. And then can be adhered with small strips of double stick tape.) The butterflies on the inside of the card are freebies you can find HERE.

Supplies: 
·   Background Digi From Dover Art  (Creative Haven Spring Scenes Coloring Book)
·   Butterfly Die- Xcut small butterfly
·   Front Sentiment- Upcycled from an old card (company unknown)
·   Inside Butterfly Digis- Freebies you can find HERE.
·   Assorted Cardstock and scrap of lavender plastic document folder from my stash
Entered into: 
Butterfly Challenge- #149 F is for Flag Fold            

Outlawz Challenges- Monday Greeting Challenge- Anything Goes

Word Art Wednesday Challenge- #466-467 Anything Goes

2craftycrittercrazies Challenge- Nov 2020 #44                      

        

My second card went together quickly. Like the card above, I used a diecut butterfly and added translucent wings with scraps from a plastic document folder. The bright background, with gold foil designs, is an upcycled note card (a compute- generated scripture verse was taped atop the “thank you” on the original notecard.) My card includes one of the required colors (French Pink) and one theme (Butterfly.)

Supplies: 
·   Butterfly Die- Xcut small butterfly
·   Upcycled front from a Thank You notecard
·   Cardstock, gold metallic paper and scrap of red plastic document folder from my stash
·   Sentiment- Computer Generated
Entered into: 
Butterfly Challenge- #149 F is for Flag Fold            

Outlawz Sunday Challenge- You’ll Never Walk Alone

Cute Card Thursday- Challenge #661 Sentimental 

Polkadoodles Challenge-Week #47 Anything Goes    

Createful Heart Designs- Nov Challenge #26 

 
My final card was hard to make… but also helped me to work through some grief. I often add butterflies to sympathy cards because they symbolize new life and hope. That is the prayer that I will send along with this card when I mail it on. I knew I wanted to make an elegant card, so was digging through my stash of vellum and found this beautiful vellum PLUS the vellum butterflies. Sentiments and a few strips of ribbon pulled my card together. It includes one of the required colors (French Pink- butterfly wings) and one theme (Butterfly.)

Supplies: 
·   Front Sentiment- Free digi from Papercraft Magazine (no longer available)
·   Vellum butterflies- Upcycled front from an old card
·   Cardstock, patterned vellum and ribbon (sheer and satin) from my stash
·   Sentiment- Computer Generated
Entered into: 
Butterfly Challenge- #149 F is for Flag Fold   

Lemon Shortbread Challenge- Anything Goes #133 

Outlawz Challenge- Twisted Thursday Anything Goes          

 

Thanksgiving and Christmas

This card was created for a wonderful annual event at Beccy’s Place named the Month of Holiday Cards Challenge (not just Christmas cards, you can make cards for ANY holiday.) This is my third year of participating, and I’m honored to now be a member of Beccy’s DT (called a Contributor!) and am blessed to have a large collection of Beccy’s amazing artwork!
The 8th annual Challenge goes on all month, with drawings for daily challenges, for posting comments, and even random entry numbers!  Stop in HERE to learn more. 
Most of the challenges follow an A-Z theme… with a few other topics thrown in to cover all 31 days of November. This card is for the letter “L” as in Layers. I used Beccy’s  Build a Wreath digi set, which includes four Bonus Wreaths that are pre-colored with a sentiment already centered inside. (I did make the berry wreath my own by adding a bit of shading and highlighting and adding a ribbon bow.)

 

Supplies: 

·   Digi and front sentiment- Beccy’s Place Digital Stamp- Precolored (Build a Wreath)
·   Shading added with Spectrum Noir Classique grey markers and highlight with Sakura Gelly Roll white gel pen
·   Inside  Sentiment- “Blessings” from Power Poppy Digi Set (Autumns Opulence)
·   Cardstock, background paper and red ribbon from my stash
Entered into: 

Beccy’s Place- 8th Annual Month of Holiday Cards Challenge    
Besties Challenge- November Anything Goes
Ching-Chou Kuik's Digital Stamps Inspiration & Challenge- Thanksgiving 

I discovered a new challenge recently named Let’s Squash It! That requires the use of an embossing folder. Since I have accumulated several that I rarely use I was glad to see this challenge since it should inspire me to get more use from them! This is my first entry. It uses a Cuddlebug Snowflake embossing folder. The sentiments are from a Hero Arts Stamp and Cut set and a Bugaboo Stella's Sketch inspired the card layout.

 

Supplies: 
·   Die and clear stamp- Hero Arts Stamp and Cut set (Peace)
·   Darice Embossing Folder- Snowflake
·   Cardstock, background paper, sheer ribbon, and snowflake charms from my stash
Entered into: 
Let’s Squash It! Challenge- Use a Christmas Themed Embossing Folder AND Stamps
Bugaboo Stamp- Stella Says Sketch Challenge #819                    
Simon Says Monday Challenge- Happy Holidays                         
Outlawz Challenges- Monday Greeting Challenge- Blue Monochrome
The Sisterhood of Crafters- Embossing  
Power Poppy- Creative Confetti-Let There Be Peace                     
Simon Says Wednesday Challenge- Christmas
Double D’s Challenge- Nov- Winter Blues                                     
Crafty Hazelnut’s Christmas Challenge- #517 Anything Goes
Di’s Digi Stamps- Emboss it (wet or dry)                                       
Outlawz Challenge- Crash Your Stash- Charms

I regularly enter the Word Art Wednesday Challenge, which provides a free scripture sentiment for each challenge. I really like the current one so wanted to use it for a Thanksgiving card. The beautiful background paper is also a freebie. I found it… and dozens more after I won a gift card in a Spectrum Noir challenge and was shopping! Discovered that the Crafters Companion website has offered monthly paper/sentiment packs for over a decade… all available for free download. You can find them HERE

Supplies: 
·   Front Sentiment- Word Art Wednesday Freebie (Psalm 69:30)   
·   Inside  Sentiments from Power Poppy Digi Set (Autumns Opulence)
·   Fall Background paper- Crafters Companion Free Download, Oct 2018
·   Cardstock and background papers from my stash
·   Wooden Leaf- Hobby Lobby
Entered into: 
Word Art Wednesday Challenge- #466-467 Anything Goes                   
Cute Card Thursday- Challenge #661 Sentimental
Crafty Hazelnut’s Patterned Paper Challenge- November             
Path Of Positivity Challenge- Challenge #85 (Optional Twist- Gratitude)

Flamingo Fun!

It’s Friday and time for the Colour Crazy Challenge. This challenge is “Anything Goes” but adds one requirement- the creation needs to include coloring in “any colouring medium you like, onto any project you like, and in any colours you like.” I’ve never outgrown my love for coloring… which is why making cards is stress therapy for me!!

This week’s sponsor is Knitty Kitty. and my DT card features a sweet image from a set of skating flamingos named Build A Snow Scene. I printed off copies of a flamingo, flipping one of them so that I could glue them together to create a two-sided image. Bright pink coloring and some pretty pastel pink feathers help to bring the beauty (I think her name is Felicia) to life! The base of my card, with the circle cutout and inside sentiment “Joy” is from a boxed set that I found at an after Christmas sale last year. The cutout provided the perfect frame for the skater. I replaced the red ribbon with burgundy, which looks better with the pink flamingo, and added a blue circle cut from a plastic document folder to the inside of the card on top of the sentiment. It provides some contrast so that Felicia really pops! (Note- Plastic document folders come in a pack of assorted colors and can be found in the office supply section of most stores and from some dollar stores! I really like using them on my cards because they're cheaper than colored vellum and are more translucent.  You can write on them with a fine-line permanent marker or white gel pen. The plastic is also easy to fussy-cut with a nice, sharp pair of scissors. And then can be adhered to a card with small strips of double-stick tape.) 

I attached the skater to the opening by cutting a thin strip of acetate taping a strip and taping it to the backside of the card front, and covering the tape with a piece of scrapbook paper with a circle cutout. I then attached the Felicia images to the acetate with double-stick tape, tucking feathers down between the image and the acetate strip. Took some finagling, but I like the results. The final touch was adding a gentle flurry of bright blue snowflake stickers to the card.

Supplies: 
·   Digi- Knitty Kitty (Build A Snow Scene)
·   Colored with Spectrum Noir Classique markers and Sakura Gelly Roll white gel pen
·   Snowflake Stickers- Hobby Lobby
·   Scrapbook paper, acetate strip, ribbon, and boxed Christmas card from my stash

Entered into: 
Simon Says Monday Challenge- Happy Holidays                         
Power Poppy- Creative Confetti- Let It Snow                    
Crafty Catz Challenge- Anything Goes #528 
Dragonfly Dreams- Christmas/Winter
The Paper Shelter- #450 Use a Digi

Outlawz Challenges- Monday Greeting Challenge- Blue Monochrome

This card was created for a wonderful annual event at Beccy’s Place named the Month of Holiday Cards Challenge (not just Christmas cards, you can make cards for ANY holiday.) This is my third year of participating, and I’m honored to now be a member of Beccy’s DT (called a Contributor!) and am blessed to have a large collection of Beccy’s amazing artwork! The 8th annual Challenge goes on all month, with drawings for daily challenges, for posting comments, and even random entry numbers!  Stop in HERE to learn more.  Most of the challenges follow an A-Z theme… with a few other topics thrown in to cover all 31 days of November. This card is for the letter “K” as in Kraft Cardstock. I printed Stanley Claus onto kraft cardstock, colored and fussy-cut the handsome bear before placing him on a Tri-fold Shutter card base. The holly sequins were from my sweet mom's craft stash. I know she would have loved seeing them add some bling to Stanleys card. (Speaking of Stanley. I attempted to make him look fluffy by sponging on a bit of white pigment ink. But I fear that it just makes him look like he is molting!! Or, in the words of Christopher Robin, maybe he’s just a “Silly OLD bear!”)

Supplies: 

·   Digi and Sentiments- Beccy’s Place Digital Stamp (Stanley Claus)

·   Colored with Spectrum Noir Classique markers, Sakura Gelly Roll white gel pen, and white pigment ink

·   Instructions for Tri-Fold Shutter Card HERE

·   Cardstock, background papers, white furry fabric, holly sequins and circle template from my stash

Entered into:  

Beccy’s Place- 8th Annual Month of Holiday Cards Challenge- K is for Kraft

Simon Says Wednesday Challenge- Christmas

Word Art Wednesday Challenge- #466-467 Anything Goes 

Outlawz Challenge- Festive Fridays  

Outlawz Challenge- Inlinks Challenge

My final card this post features the November Progressive Challenge Freebie at Outlawz. It is named “Ellie with Kittens” from Paper Nest Dolls. I also used the Outlawz current Wednesday Sketch when creating my card.  I am entering my card into several other challenges including Outlawz Tuesday TicTacToe (my card fits into the middle column (includes flowers, kittens and a heart-shaped barrette).  

 

Supplies:  · Digi- Paper Nest Dolls (Ellie With Kittens)

·   Colored with Spectrum Noir Classique markers and Sakura Gelly Roll white gel pen

·   Front Sentiment “Happy Purr-thday” from an Imagine That digi set (Kitty Lapping Milk)

·   Inside Sentiment- maxammadestudio.com (Happy Day)

·   Cardstock and assorted background papers from my stash

Entered into: 

Outlawz Challenges- Progressive Freebie- Paper Nest Dolls  (Ellie with Kittens)

Outlawz Challenges- Tuesday Color Challenge- TicTacToe        

Outlawz Challenges- Wednesday Sketch        
Crafty Hazelnut’s Patterned Paper Challenge- November  

Spectrum Noir Community Group (FB)- Nov- Anything Goes   

A Trio of Holiday Cards

After spending some time in my craft room, it’s time for me to do some catch-up posting for this year’s annual event at Beccy’s Place named the Month of Holiday Cards Challenge (not just Christmas cards, you can make cards for ANY holiday.) This is my third year of participating, and I’m honored to now be a member of Beccy’s DT (called a Contributor) and am blessed to have a large collection of Beccy’s amazing artwork! The 8th annual Challenge goes on all month, with drawings for daily challenges, for posting comments, and even random entry numbers!  Stop in HERE to learn more.  Most of the challenges follow an A-Z theme… with a few other topics thrown in to cover all 31 days of November.

 
This card is for the letter “H” as in Happy New Year. For the base, I used a large CHEERS card that I picked up at a local Goodwill (4 in the package for $1… how could I say no?!) The cocktail digis are from a wonderful set named “Girl’s Night Out.”  After coloring and fussy-cutting three of the drinks, I layered them atop a circle cut from a yellow plastic document folder. (These wonderful items come in a pack of assorted colors and can be found in the office supply section of most stores and from some dollar stores! I really like using them on my cards because they're cheaper than colored vellum and are more translucent.  You can write on them with a fine-line permanent marker or white gel pen. The plastic is also easy to fussy-cut with a nice, sharp pair of scissors. And then can be adhered to a card with small strips of double-stick tape. I also used a few scraps of red behind the sentiments on the front and inside of the card.) I wondered if I could also make the drinks look like translucent liquids by adding black dots to the pastel coloring. Was a little afraid to try in case I ruined my pretty pastel coloring? So... I first sketched the dots with a pencil. Then, when they looked right, I went over the dots with the tip of a grey marker. I love the results so much that I turned my attention to teh cocktail on the inside of the card, too. I used a pencil to lightly sketched a bottom strawberry on the skewer, then added grey and red marker details to turn that drink translucent, too. So fun! 

Supplies: 
·   Front and Inside Digis- Beccy’s Place Digital Stamp (Girls Night Out)  
·   Front Sentiment- Computer Generated
·   Inside Sentiment- Desert Diva Sentiment (Celebrate)
·   Colored with Spectrum Noir Classique markers and Sakura Gelly Roll white gel pen
·   Sparkly Heart Stickers- Hobby Lobby
·   Cardstock, scraps of plastic file folders from my stash
·   CHEERS card base- Notecards from my stash
Entered into: 
Beccy’s Place- 8th Annual Month of Holiday Cards Challenge -H is for Happy New Year’s 
Simon Says Monday Challenge- Happy Holidays                         
Outlawz Challenge- Twisted Thursday Anything Goes
Outlawz Challenge- Inlinks Challenge
Jan’s Digi Stamps- November 2020 Anything Goes

This card is for the letter I, as in “Iridescent.” It features a new technique that I tried a few months ago to make a tree ornament. It is made with glue, glitter and a used dryer sheet. I loved the results, so used one of the leftover scraps to create the ornament on this card. The sentiments are both from Beccy’s Place digi sets. (The tutorial I used is listed in the supply section. Note- I used regular glue vs. spray adhesive on my ornament. For deets, stop by my Sept 20 blog HERE.)  

 

Supplies: 
·   Wood Mount Stamp- Embossing Arts (Three Trees) Company is no longer in business
·   Colored with Stampin’ Up Forest Green ink pad
·   Dryer Sheet Glitter tutorial found HERE
·   Front Sentiment- Beccy’s Place Digital Set (Gingerbread Wishes)
·   Inside Sentiment- Beccy’s Place Digi Set  (Jolly Holiday)
·   Assorted background paper, metallic cardstock, silver cord  and ribbon from my stash
Entered into: 
Beccy’s Place- 8th Annual Month of Holiday Cards Challenge -I is for Iridescent Ornament
Lemon Shortbread Challenge- Anything Goes #133 
Lil Patch of Crafty Friends- #146 Anything Goes
Outlawz Challenge- Festive Fridays                                                
Crafty Hazelnut’s Christmas Challenge- #515 Anything Goes (Optional Twist- Add glitter)
Crafty Hazelnut’s Patterned Paper Challenge- November             
Do-Al[l] Kreatives #47 Twister-Sister (Glitter/Sparkle and Christmas Greetings)

My last card for this posting is for the letter J… and it beautifully highlights the reason for the season- Jesus! I love this digi and inside sentiment from one of Beccy’s digi sets named “Lamb of God.” The card front is an upcycled notecard that features an assortment of sentiments that describe Jesus. After coloring and fussy-cutting the precious infant King, I added a simple halo with a circle of vellum.  Scraps of rich burgundy colored mulberry paper add texture to the card. I’m entering this card into several challenges including the Path Of Positivity Challenge (Our project is to depict thankfulness or gratitude. I am so very thankful that, in spite of COVID, social unrest, riots, and other struggles, I can rest in God’s promise of “hope and a future.” Jeremiah 29:11)
 

Supplies: 
·   Digi and Inside Sentiment- Beccy’s Place Digital Stamp (Lamb of God)
·   Colored with Spectrum Noir Classique markers and Sakura Gelly Roll white gel pen
·   Assorted cardstock, upcycled note card, vellum and mulberry paper from my stash
Entered into: 
Beccy’s Place- 8th Annual Month of Holiday Cards Challenge - J is for Jesus
Word Art Wednesday Challenge- #466-467 Anything Goes                   
Simon Says Wednesday Challenge- Christmas
Cute Card Thursday- Challenge #661 Sentimental
The Paper Shelter- #450 Use a Digi
Di’s Digi Stamps- Use a Digi Image                                                 
Cute As A Button- NOVEMBER: CH #62 Anything Goes
Digi Doodle Studios- Christmas/Winter  
Spectrum Noir Community Group (FB)- Nov- Anything Goes  
Path Of Positivity Challenge- Challenge #85 (Optional Twist- Gratitude)
        Since I’m a DT for Sheepski (sponsor), I’m entering just for fun!