Butterfly Challenge

Well I think I've got my card made in time for the butterfly challenge HERE which this time around is Texture and/or Teal.  There are some brilliant examples from the design team for inspiration so why not take a look and then maybe have a go yourself.  I seem to have managed two posts today but I really didn't want to miss the challenge once I'd decided what I was going to make - so easy to miss deadlines!

For this card I've used (for texture) an embossing folder which was yet another freebie with a magazine.  It is embossed onto pearlescent card and then rubbed over with teal gilding wax which was also used to colour a spare piece of card so that I could make a mat and also punch out the flowers and butterflies.  Of course for the mat I only needed to wax around the edges.  The sentiment is also part of the same folder which is A6 size and includes the butterfly, sentiment and a little lace border which I've not used today.

EDIT - silly me there is another week before the end of this challenge so there is plenty of time if you do want to take part

Embossing Folder - magazine freebie - yes again!!
Flowers - punch from Stampin' Up
Butterflies - punches from SU

The Other One

Here is the second New Home card which I made; this time using a digital stamp coloured using alcohol pens with the addition of a little coloured pencil.  Papers are from my stash and I've added a fancy border with matching sentiment plaque.

Image - Digital stamp by Sassy Cheryl
Border and Plaque - Dies by Sue Wilson Australian Collection
Label dies - Spellbinders
Sentiment - produced on the computer

New Home Card

A friend asked me to make a New Home card which of course I was happy to do but I sometimes find these requests a bit daunting particularly as in this case when I think I know what the friend would like but have no idea of the identity nor the tastes of the recipients.  However I decided to go along with some stamping and die cutting to make this card which is a bit larger than my usual makes.  The stamp was coloured using pencils and I embossed and sponged some card in a brick pattern for the background before cutting a square frame and adding some stamped and die cut roses.  Fingers crossed it will meet with approval but I've also produced another card in a different style so that my friend can have a choice - watch this space.

Main Image - Chocolate Baroque stamps coloured using Coloursoft pencils
Background -  stone wall texture embossing folder Crafter's Companion
Frames - Noble Pierced Squares by Sue Wilson
Centre layers - dies by Sizzix for Stampin' Up
Roses - Alt & New stamps and die set - magazine freebie

Pixie Snippets Playground week 226

Sunday seems to have come around quickly - again - and time for another Snippets Playground card.  I've used some bits and pieces of patterned paper for the background to suit the image I printed after revisiting some of my many CD's which I'd not looked at for some time.  I tend to forget what great images there are to be found on them and they do deserve to be given an airing now and then to be reminded what resources I have at my fingertips.  As always Di has made a lovely card for us this week and also chosen her 'picks' from last week.  If like me you are of a 'certain age' or thereabouts you will enjoy reading what she has to say this week about several 'blasts from the past' - I remember them all!!

Anyway back to the present and here is my card - as I said, using up several snippets of paper and card along with a cute scarecrow image printed from one of my many (too many) CD's

Image - printed from a Polkadoodles CD Sundae of Seasons
Papers and card - snippets from my stash and scrap boxes
Dies - Spellbinders labels and Sue Wilson banners
Sentiment - Stamp and matching die from Stampin' Up

Would You Believe ...?

Would you believe it ... another crafty magazine hopped into my basket in the supermarket!!  This time it was so tempting because they were giving away a set of stained glass window stamps - four in all, with two sentiment stamps and a border embossing folder.  I've stamped and coloured one of the windows with alcohol pens; then decided to use some of the smaller square dies from a set to frame it.  Often I find that the smaller dies in the graded sets don't get used as much as the large ones. Next I cut some corners from scraps of card to match the inner frame before finishing off with some matching background paper and a larger frame.

Stamp - free with magazine and coloured with alcohol pens
Frames - Noble pierced squares by Sue Wilson
Corners - from Border and corner set also Sue Wilson
Sentiment - Stamp and matching Bitty banner die from Stampin' Up.

Trio of Flowers

I spotted two cards made by Barb and liked the quirkiness of them so much that I searched through my stamps to see if I could make something similar.  I hope she doesn't mind that I've pinched her idea but I'm told that imitation is a form of flattery!!  I stamped my flowers and leaves onto patterned paper and cut them out with scissors before arranging them onto a text background with a greeting. My flowers don't have quite the quirkiness I so admired but this is my interpretation of the idea.

Stamps -  flowers and leaves from Chocolate Baroque Sunny Sunflowers
Embossed border - free folder from magazine
Sentiment - Tim Holtz
Paper - Prima script collection
Flower centres - punch from Stampin' Up.

Pixie Snippets Playground

What a lovely surprise I had when I visited the Playground to see that my card from last week had been chosen as one of Di's 'picks' along with several others in varying styles so it is well worth hopping along to take a look I'd say.  For my card this week I've gone down the die cutting route, starting with a fairly large snippet of blue background, then a striplet die was used twice to cut out of the white pearl layer.  I then used another fancy die to cut out two layers in the same colours of card, followed by a couple of ovals for the sentiment which I did on the computer.  It so happened I had two stray stamped and embossed flowers which I popped on along with some matching pearls.  Di mentioned that buying dies to match stamps is not always necessarily the best option and I'm inclined to agree, especially when the outlines are easy to cut with scissors.  This means of course that you can cut closer to the outline without ending up with (often in my case) an uneven white border around the design and money saved can then be spent on something else crafty!!

Dies - Lattice Striplet and Vienna from the Austrian collection by Sue Wilson
Flowers - shaded peony stamps Sue Wilson cut with scissors
Sentiment - produced using Designer software from Docraft (discontinued I think)