Butterfly Challenge #147

 It's been a while since I made a card for the Butterfly challenge and I did intend to try the clever fold idea but sadly this was not to be but the details of all the different card shapes are on the Butterfly Blog so I can try again another day.  The alphabet letter for #147 is 'D' - double point fold, diamonds and colours of delft blue, dandelion and damson with of course the usual butterfly.   I managed to incorporate diamonds in the large die cut background shape and some 'diamond' gems on the butterfly body, also colours delft blue and dandelion yellow.  The die used for the main fancy shape is one which I've had for more years than I care to imagine and using it has made me realise just how dies have improved over the years in terms of ease of use.  This one needed more than one pass to cut and then it wanted to hang on to all the pieces rather than letting them just drop out.  The butterfly was cut in the two colours as well and some matching paper was used for the background.  Card was finished off with some matching 'card candi' - something else which I've  had forever!!

Die cut Shape - Marianne die set
Sentiment - stamp from my favourite freebie set
Butterfly - Sizzix die

Free as a Bird

Yesterday I was quite pleased that I had to stay at home because the weather started out by being just a bit damp but deteriorated into being extremely wet and dreary as the day went on.  Just the sort of day for sitting by the fire doing a bit of stamping, colouring and fussy cutting.  I finished up with a bird, a branch and a selection of blossom and leaves which I then turned into this card.  I found some pretty background paper, die cut two shapes and embossed the smaller, white one before arranging the bird and blossoms in what I hope is a pleasing way.  Found an odd strip of pink card which I die cut on both edges to form a border, finally adding a birthday sticker. Blue skies and sunshine so far this morning but the forecast doesn't look good - mind you it is October so I suppose we can't hope for endless summer weather.

Bird and Blossom - Free as a Bird stamp set from Stampin' Up
Border - die from Crafter's Companion
Sentiment - sticker from Clarity book of stickers for many occasions
Shapes - Window frames collection Stampin' Up
Embossing - 3D Embossing folder from Creative Expressions
Colouring - done with Inktense pencils

Humming Bird

 I came across this image when I was sorting through a box of miscellaneous pieces of paper and card. I'm sure I must have printed it but for the life of me I can't recall the source. It was ages ago I know and probably before my computer crashed and had to be replaced.  Anyway I thought I'd use it to make up a card using some toning punched strips of card and adding a few more of my stray flowers and leaves which happen to be the right colours.

Image - unknown source
Background - from my stash of papers
Ovals - Tonic nesting dies
Strips - Stampin' Up punch
Sentiment - computer generated using Word
Flowers and leaves - Stampin' Up Botanical Builder dies

Stray Flowers

 The other day I used some stray die cut mice and today I have a card to share which has used up some stray flowers and leaves from the tray on my desk.  I started off by using a large octagon die to cut the base card - makes a change from my usual square ones!  Next I cut more octagons using smaller dies using white and different shades of green card.  A few flowers and leaves were arranged in a little spray, everything layered up and glued and there we have it - yet another card for my ever growing supply of finished ones.

The sun is shining this morning and it looks as if we are in for a pleasant weekend, weather-wise anyway even though it is quite a bit cooler than of late.  Enjoy 😷🙂

Larger Octagons - die set from Daisy Mae Designs
Smaller Octagons - die set from Tonic
Sentiment - from my usual free set given with magazine ages ago
Flowers and Leaves - 'spares' from various sets,  kept in a tray on my desk

Get Well Card

 I thought these tulips might cheer up someone who is feeling under the weather. The flower heads were stamped onto scraps of white card using yellow first and then just touching around the edges at the base of the stamp with some red to give a two-tone effect. Dies were used to cut the tulips and a leaf.  Leaves and stems were stamped onto a strip of white card which was backed with some green card with a punched edge.  Sentiment was stamped onto a punched label shape

Flowers and leaves - Timeless Tulips stamps and dies Stampin' Up
Border and label punches - from Stampin Up
Sentiment - stamp from a set which came free with a magazine a few years ago

Stray Mice

 As well as always having scraps of paper or card left over from making a card often find that I have various left over die cuts and of course they all get saved.  This week I found two little mice lurking in a  tray on my desk (not real ones I hasten to add) and I guess they've been there ever since last Christmas.  I felt I should use them to make a Christmas card for this year so I looked out the set of stamps and dies along with a few other seasonal bits and pieces so that I could die cut some more bits to make a little scene.   The tree was cut from a scrap of plain card and then I stamped a woodgrain texture on it, coloured the window frames, then die cut a mouse snowman, fairy lights and some trees to go with the two stray mice.  |A scrap of blue spotted paper was used for the sky and some white card die cut into a snowy landscape.  I really should go through the plastic trays on my desk to see what other treasures there are which could be made into cards - I know there are definitely flowers and leaves as well as quite a few shapes which are left when cutting frames etc.

I have a feeling that Christmas this year will be a pretty low key affair but I think people will be glad to have some nice cards.  I hope so because I have lots of Christmas 'stuff' to use.

Tree and mice etc - stamp and die set which has lost its packaging
Snowy Landscape - Stitched Hillside Borders Lawn Fawn

A Lucky Win

 I was lucky recently and won a lovely prize in the Pixie Snippets Playground challenge - some dies, a stencil and pack of sentiment stickers so I thought it appropriate to use at least some of the prize to make a card for the current challenge.  I started off with a fairly large snippet of cream card and used the stencil to emboss the card before brushing it lightly with some Distress ink and then over stamping with a small swirl stamp.  I'd found an already cut piece of trellis which was a left over from a project made ages ago.  This was white so I inked it with the same ink so that it would tie in nicely.  A selection of smaller snippets in varying colours was  then used to cut out some flowers and swirls using the die set and these were arranged onto the trellis.  Finally a sentiment was stamped onto a scrap of cream card, die cut into a banner with a slightly larger one in brown as a backing.  Thought it just needed a little something extra so a tiny bee was die cut from brown card.

There is another great prize on offer for the current challenge so if you'd like to be in with a chance why not make a card using up some of your snippets - take a look at the inspiration card, I love it.

Background - embossed using Joanna Sheen stencil, small stamp Chocolate Baroque
Trellis - die given \away free with magazine many moons ago
Flowers and Swirls - die set from Sweet Dixie
Sentiment - free stamp, banner dies from Creative Impressions
Bee - die from Tonic