Candy Butterflies

Hiya friends!  So glad to be back with you today.  Thanks for letting me take a little mental holiday.  As promised, I have some blog candy for you but first I have a card to share!  I really wanted to play along with the Shabby Tea Room's Butterfly challenge last week.  Just look at this gorgeous inspiration photo:

I missed that deadline but was delighted to have another chance this week with the Stampin' Up Only (SUO) challenge in celebration of...butterflies!   Using last week's photo as inspiration, here's what I made:

Oh, I had fun with this one!  They look like candy, don't they?  Fitting for today's blog candy post.  All the butterflies were cut with the Beautiful Wings embosslit that cuts and embosses in one pass through the Big Shot!  The designer paper is all from the patterned DSP stack in the Brights & Subtles color families using Tempting Turquoise, Wild Wasabi, Daffodil Delight, Pumpkin Pie and Melon Mambo.

I took a sanding block to the embossed sections of the butterflies to expose the white paper core and added a trail of basic rhinestones.

 I love a basic black card base especially when using so much color but that definitely means I need to complete the inside...unless the recipient can read invisible ink!  I love how the butterfly from Bold Blossoms (available in the Summer Mini) looks inked up in all the colors from the front.  They really pop against the black.  So, what do you think of today's card?  I would love to know!

Now for the sweetest part!  It's hard to believe that Saturday will mark my second anniversary of blogging.  When I started this blog, I wasn't sure I would have anything to say much less expect anyone to visit me!  But two years later, I've found a supportive community of crafters and made some wonderful friends!  So to honor all of my friends and followers, I am throwing a little party...and it wouldn't be a party without candy! Here's what you can win:

One of the most popular stamp sets from the now-retired Spring Mini catalog....Nature Walk in clear-mount and a pot of Silver Glass Glitter!!  I will chose a random winner from all comments left on this post by my blog followers and announce the winner on Saturday May 7th.  So, join in the fun...sign up to follow and let me know what you think of today's card, or the candy or anything at all--just hearing from you makes my day!  Have a good one, friends!

the goodies:

stamps: bold blossoms; something to celebrate; bring on the cake; hope happens

ink: jet black stayzon; wild wasabi, daffodil delight, tempting turquoise, pumpkin pie, melon mambo classic ink

paper: whisper white & basic black CS; patterns designer series paper stack brights & subtles

xtras: elegant lines embossing folder; beautiful wings embosslit; basic black satin ribbon; basic rhinestones; petal cone die (banner tag)

A little break

Hiya friends!  No card to share but a quick note to let you know that I am taking a little time off from blogging for some quality family time.  :-)  On May 7th I will celebrate two years of blogging and we'll have ourselves a little party with some candy.  So check back next week to see what I'll be giving away.  The giveaway will be for followers only so join in the fun and let me see your smiling face!  Take care, friends. 

Fabulous Petals

Happy Friday everyone!  Just a quick post to share a card we made in the Canopy Club on Tuesday night.  It features the gorgeous new designer paper--Paisley Petals--which is a sneak peek from the 2011-2012 Idea Book & Catalog being released July 1st.  This paper is just beautiful--it looks like tapestry and the colors are so rich and elegant.

To make it look even more like fabric, I adhered a generous piece to Not Quite Navy cardstock and ran both layers through the Square Lattice embossing folder.  Isn't that a cool effect?  It really adds so much texture and volume to an otherwise clean and simple card.

Another sneak peek is this darling label from the Four Frames set that coordinates perfectly with the Decorative Label punch--love that!  Here, I stamped it in NQN onto Naturals Ivory cardstock and added a sentiment built from the Fabulous Phrases collection of words.  This really is a great set to have in your arsenal--single words that can work together to build sentiments for every occasion and person--check it out, pg. 149!

Ribbon Share final UPDATE:  Ribbon shares were mailed out to participants this morning, woohoo!  So glad to get those in the mail!  Thank you to everyone who participated.  I know you will enjoy your ribbon and have a great time creating with it!  Stay tuned for more opportunites to "share".

That's all for me today, friends.  We're planning some quality family time this weekend and I am taking a short vacation from the Paper Players design team so I look forward to chatting with you next week!

the goodies:

stamps: fabulous phrases, four frames

ink: not quite navy, cherry cobbler

paper: cherry cobbler, not quite navy, naturals ivory CS; paisley petals DSP

xtras: cherry cobbler seam binding ribbon; decorative label punch; square lattice embossing folder

Canopy Club Treat

Woohoo, look at me with a mid-week post!  I had some time in my craft room today and made some projects for my monthly Canopy Club including these sweet little treats for everyone who came to club tonight:

I finally broke down and bought the Petal Cone die and am I ever glad!  It's so cute and I love the little banner tag that comes with it.  I've seen Petal Cone carrots all over blogland and just had to make one. 

The "carrot" is made from one Tangerine Tango petal cone on which I stamped the spray of blossoms from Easter Blossoms.  I like the effect of stamping on textured cardstock for an instant distressed look!  The die also includes a scalloped half circle which, in Pear Pizzaz, trims the top of the carrot nicely.

There's the sweet little silhouette from Easter Blossoms too--can't get enough of this set!  In fact, we used it on 2 of the 3 cards tonight.

Ribbon Share update: All the ribbon is cut and I am in the process of packaging it all to mail by the end of the week.  Thank you all for your "share"...and your patience!  I promise it will be the worth the wait--I've never seen so much gorgeous ribbon in one place!

That's it for tonight friends...hope you have a great day tomorrow...hugs! 

the goodies:

stamps: easter blossoms, something to celebrate

ink: tangerine tango, soft suede

paper: tangerine tango, pear pizzazz, very vanilla CS

xtras: petal cone die; 1 3/8" circle punch; hole punch; pear pizzazz seam binding ribbon

Paper Players CAS Sketch: {PP43}

Welcome to Paper Players Sunday! It's a good thing I have to post a card for the Paper Players because otherwise this blog would be pretty quiet (insert chirping crickets here). I'm not sure if life will ever slow down but lately it's been difficult to find time in my craft room! :-(  Anywhoooo...so glad it's a clean-and-simple challenge this week! We have a great sketch from Jaydee for you:

and here is my card:

The Wild Wasabi base was stamped with a random pattern of single stamps from Button, Button.  This is such a cute set with 18 different button selections that coordinate with some of our punches!  I stamped the buttons in Versamark and heat embossed with clear embossing powder for a glossy effect:

You might be thinking that I stamped each of those little buttons separately.  I could...but I didn't!  I used our largest clear block (F), placed all the buttons in a collage pattern on the block and stamped the whole thing just once! 

How easy is that?  Next, I trimmed some of my very favorite Sweet Stitches designer paper with an Early Espresso scalloped border.  Did you spot the sneak peek product?  If you follow any other Stampin' Up blogs, you no doubt have seen the Four Frames stamp set that is currently available to customers as a pre-order this month.  The set of 4 stamps coordinates with the Decorative Label punch for a perfect label every time!  Here I used the polka dot frame in Melon Mambo on Very Vanilla.

The sentiment, from Hello Again, was stamped in Wild Wasabi on Very Vanilla and punched out with the Large Oval punch.  I popped it up on dimensionals and added a little Early Espresso ribbon tail underneath topped off with a Daffodil Delight flower button.  That's a little snip of Early Espresso cardstock threaded through the button holes for instant matching "thread".

 Here's another sneak peek for you--Happy Greetings provided the wonderful sentiment I used on the inside--just one of the many new stamps and goodies awaiting you in the Summer Mini Catalog.  I finished it off with a scrap of designer paper and a few buttons stamped in Wild Wasabi, Melon Mambo and Daffodil Delight.

I hope you like today's card and that you will play along with The Paper Players this week.  You have until midnight (PST) Friday, April 22nd to load your fabulous creation at The Paper Players.  I hope to see you there!  Have a great day, my friends.

the goodies:

stamps: button button, hello again, four frames, happy greetings

ink: wild wasabi, melon mambo, early espresso, daffodil delight, versamark

paper: wild wasabi, early espresso & very vanilla CS; sweet stitches DSP

xtras: clear block "F"; large oval, decorative label, & scallop trim border punches; brights designer buttons; clear embossing powder