POLISHED STONE NAUTICAL NOTE CARD

Happy Leap Day everyone & welcome! Today I'm sharing another polished stone card. which uses a collage type ship image (by TAC), Because the image reminded me of an antique photograph, I wanted a background to carry that antique feel through the entire card. If you're not familiar with polished stone technique, please refer to my February 18th post to learn about how to do it.

I started by stamping a crackled backgound (by TAC also) onto the A2 card front in charcoal gray (a lighter shade of smoky blue would work well here too). and set it aside. Then the real fun began!

To create the polished stone look in the ship image, I used dark, medium & light blue dye reinkers and just  a small amount of a teal green reinker & silver metallic reinker. After stamping the ship with black ink, I cut it with my Fiskars Trimmer, leaving about 1/8" ink border around the image. Then I attached this to a piece of navy CS, leaving 1/4" matting around all edges. Next, this was mounted on white CS & cut to leave a 1/2" matting all around. The last matting is done with black CS and 1/4" edging around. Finally I mounted the matted image to the crackle stamped card front!

I'm planning to use this as a note card, so did not add greeting to the front, but it could easily be turned into a birthday or get well card by adding a sentiment in black to the lower right corner of the white matting! Also, an anchor die cut would be cute added to this card - the possibilities are endless!

I hope I've helped to inspire your creativity today! Happy creating & smiles, Laura

FEATURING "SENDING HUGS" CARD IDEA

Happy Sunday everyone! With permission from the artist, I am very excited today to be featuring a card I made using a new digital image set called "Sending Hugs," created by my very talented & lovely friend Christina Hor from Memories Crafter. I absolutely adore this set! And Christina has made this new release available to everyone for FREE through Monday, February 29th! Be sure to visit her blog next - you can get there by clicking the link to Memories Crafter under "My Favorites" in the sidebar! Christina has a very informative blog, beautiful card samples, and other digis available - please contact Christina directly from her site if you'd like to get her other digis - I cannot share them with you here! Thank you so much Christina, for creating this beautiful digi set and sharing with us! As my card says "You're the Best!"

TO MAKE THIS CARD:

I used the "Sending Hugs" digital image set by Christina Hor,  memoriescrafter.blogspot.com.

I printed my image on X-Press It CS, then colored image with alcohol markers and stamped "You're the Best" with black ink. Next, I cut this image to 3 1/2" x 4 3/4", added pink ribbon, attached it to a piece of pink CS and trimmed edges with scalloped crafting scissors. I also punched little holes with a 1/16" hole punch in the scalloped crests, as shown above.Then I attached this to a piece of light blue CS and again trimmed with only the scalloped scissors. Finally I attached this to a pink A2 card front!

You could use this to make a birthday card, a get well card, a note card, or a congratulations card, just to name a few ideas! This is such an adorable AND versatile digital image set! Thank you so much, AGAIN, Christina!

I hope I have helped to inspire everyone's creativity today - happy creating! Smiles, Laura

FEMININE BIRTHDAY CARD IDEA

Hello! Today I'm a die cut junkie! Although this card looks complicated, it's easier to make than you might think - once the dies are cut, the assembly goes quickly.

I cut the turquoise background to 4" x 5 1/2", then cut the white lattice to the same size in Cricut Craft Room using the Teresa Collins Basics digital set. The gold medallion was cut from a soft metallic gold cardstock with the Cuttlebug Grace Medallion die.

The butterfly was cut from gold Mirricard with the smaller butterfly from Spellbinders Les Papillions Two. I cut both labels from plain white CS on my Cricut with the Elegant Edges cartridge (cut the second label 1/4" larger, then sponged the edges of both with pink ink) and stamped "Happy Birthday" in black. I attached the labels together with pop dots. The rose image was colored in with Spectrum Noir Alcohol Markers.

I attached all the pieces to the turquoise base, as shown above, then mounted that to a white A2 card. I used a Zig glue marker to attach the lattice, but in hindsight, using a spray adhesive would have saved me a lot of time! The final touch was adding a bit of Icicle Stickles to the rose image.

I really had a lot of fun making today's card and I hope I've helped to inspire your creativity today! Now off to your craft rooms to play! That's where I'm headed......Smiles, Laura

QUICKIE BIRTHDAY CARD IDEA

Skill Level: Easy          Card Size: A2

Here's another idea for the same image/card I posted earlier today - yes, these are so quick and easy, I've already made another! Follow steps 1 through 3 from my previous post and pick up here:

4. With black ink, stamp a simple background that compliments your image onto the card front.

5. Attach image to upper left of card, as shown above. Stamp "happy birthday" below image.

6. Stamp desired birthday phrase on the inside of your card (not shown).

And you're done! Happy creating to all! Smiles, Laura

QUICKIE THANK YOU CARD RECIPE

Skill Level: Easy                   Card Size:A2

Hello & happy Friday! Did you ever need a thank you card in a hurry, but didn't have any on hand? If so, then this might be a great card idea for you. It took me less than 15 minutes to create using only basic supplies!

INGREDIENTS:

Images: Floral Image & phrase of your choice (I used a 2-step stamp set & phrase from TAC)

White cardstock; A2 size & smaller piece to fit your image

Black cardstock: Cut 1/4" larger than small white piece on top and one side.

Ink pads: Black, pink & light green (if you're not using a 2-step stamp, color in with markers)

Black sheer ribbon

1/8" hole punch

Scissors

Adhesive

DIRECTIONS:

1. With black ink,stamp image on small piece of white CS

2. Color in image

3. Attach this piece to black CS.

3. Decide where you want to place ribbon, then punch 2 holes in CS about 1/4" - 1/2" apart. Insert ribbon through holes, tie off & cut "V" shape into tails.

4. Attach your image to card front at an angle, as shown in photo.

5. Stamp "Thank You" on card front directly below image, as shown in photo.

Okay, the card is finished! If desired, you can stamp a phrase on the inside with black. I left mine blank so I can hand-write a note for the recipient.

IDEAS:

If you want to add a little extra bling to the card, try adding some pearls, rhinestones or other quick embellishments you have in your stash! If you don't need the card in a hurry - add some glitter glue and set aside to dry for 1/2 hour.

I'd love to hear from you & see what ideas you've come up with - you can post your ideas, comments or questions below!  As always, I hope I've helped to inspire your creativity today! Smiles, Laura

LEATHER BUCK MASCULINE CARD

Welcome back! My card was just chosen as TOP PICK at The Outlawz Twisted Thursday Challenge  so I thought I'd share it with you here today. ( By the way, The Outlawz Challenges is an awesome site, check it out & join!  http://www.outlawzchallenges.ning.com/ - If the link isn't working, please copy & paste the url into your browser) The card is easy to make, provided you have some felt and a piece of  leather laying around - the leather scrap shown here is recycled from an old hat!

First, cut your leather scrap to a size that will fit your image. Stamp your image on it - I stamped the buck with Tuxedo Black Memento, but you could also use StazOn if you like. Next, mount the leather image to a piece of felt that is cut 1/4" wider and 1" longer than your leather. I used Wonder Tape (redline tape), but it didn't hold well by itself, so I punched 1/8" holes in the leather & felt and reinforced with brads! Now cut the fringe with regular scissors - I tried using fringe scissors, and although these are great for cardstock, they did not work so well on felt!

The background is randomly stamped on tan/kraft CS (4" x 5 1/4") with a pine branch image in brown, then a "Happy Birthday" greeting in black. Attach twine diagonally to this piece with Wonder Tape (on the back). Now attach background to cardfront - I used medium brown card cut to A2 size.

Finally, attach the buck image to the center of the card front and add your phrase to the inside. If you don't have an ink that shows well on darker colored cardstock, you can cut another piece of kraft CS to 3 3/4" x 5", stamp your inside phrase on this, and attach to the inside of your card!

Happy creating everyone! I hope I've helped to inspire your creativity today! Smiles, Laura

MARCH is NATIONAL CRAFT MONTH!

Good morning everyone! Upon going through my inbox today, I discovered March is National Craft Month! (Yippee Skipee! I've been saving my pennies for rainy days such as March!) This tells me there will be some awesome sales over the next month, so I thought I'd share some sites of interest with you.

Living in a small town, my crafting shopping options are limited, and a lot of products I need (want/need, same thing!) are not available locally. So I have two choices: travel 2 - 4 hours to reach stores in a large city OR shop online (which is what I do 85% of the time). Below is list of 5 of my favorite online retailers I have purchased from and my experiences with them (in random order):

www.joann.com - a great selection of crafting items of all kinds! Orders on my doorstep in 1-2 weeks, a little longer around the Christmas holiday. Site is a little slow during high traffic times, but a great site overall, with good sales & coupons (sometimes for free or reduced shipping). I like!

www.marcopaper.com - a great site for paper, cardstock, adhesives, stamp cleaner, and the like! Excellent customer service by phone & fairly quick shipping (under a week)! Occasional specials for free/reduced shipping. I like!

www.dickblick.om - I get most of my Spectrum Noir refills from here! Really quick shipping and items are well-packaged. A huge range of art supplies to choose from. Excellent customer service by phone (I accidentally ordered 2 wrong items, called their 800 number - got a rep right away, she deleted the 2 wrong items & added the correct ones in right over the phone! Awesome!) Frequent %OFF sales and free/reduced shipping specials. I like!

www.consumercrafts.com - a good selection of craft items, including cardstock, ribbon, embellishments, cutting dies, embossing folders, more....  Frequent sales & specials, sometimes for free/reduced shipping! Great clearance sales. Quick shipping/well packaged. I like!

www.amazon.com - Excellent selection to choose from. Quick shipping, good prices, easy to navigate, I get a lot of my Spellbinders dies here. They have a nice filter in the sidebar - 50% off or more on brand names you've searched - great tool for finding bargain prices! I like!

If you have a favorite site or two you'd like to add, please post in the comments section below!

Well, I'm off to take inventory in my craft room - need to make a list of what I'm running low on so I can restock in March!  Hope this article was helpful to you! Smiles, Laura

BIRTHDAY CUPCAKE CARD

Hello! Recently a good friend of mine gave me a little gift of bright striped cardstock and swirly vellum paper, and I've used it in today's card - thank you Karen L. for me inspiring to create this card! There's a lot going on here ... stamped background, Perfect Pearls, shadow stamping on vellum paper, sponging, Stickles glitter glue ... so lets get started!

The background was made by cutting both the plain pink & striped cardstock to 4" x 5 1/4". Stamp your cupcake image in black on the upper left portion of the pink CS. Next, cut the striped CS in half diagonally (on your paper cutter, place the top left corner AND the bottom right corner on your cutting line & cut) then attached to pink CS as shown. Set aside.

Time for shadow stamping! Cut vellum to 3 1/2" x 4 3/4". In the upper left corner, stamp "celebrate" with VersaMark. Apply Perfect Pearls lightly with brush, flick off excess (see post on Perfect Pearls from 2/23/16 for tips). Next stamp "celebrate" in Brilliance Graphite Black ink ALMOST over the Perfect Pearls "celebrate", but move stamp ever so slightly up & to the left! What you should see now is the word "celebrate" in black with a shimmering gold shadow underneath & to the right! Tip: If you've never created shadows with text/phrase stamps before, practice first with two different color inks, such as pink and black, on white scrap paper first! Don't use your expensive vellum til you've got the hang of it!

Now, shadow stamp the phrase "birthday wishes" in the lower right corner. Use Brilliance Gold first, let dry a few minutes. (Tip: I prefer to stamp on vellum with Brilliance ink - it dries very quickly, as compared to other inks - dye inks take a bit longer to dry on vellum and images smudge easily before drying completely.) When dry, stamp "birthday wishes" with Brilliance Black ink ALMOST over the gold "birthday wishes", but move stamp ever so slightly up & to the left! Again, what you should see is the phrase "birthday wishes" in black with a light gold shadow underneath & to the right!

Cut a piece of white blending CS to fit your cupcake image (1 1/2" by 2 1/4" for mine above). Stamp cupcake image on this with Memento black ink pad. Color in image with your choice of alcohol markers (I used Spectrum Noir Markers). Sponge Brilliance Galaxy Gold Ink around all 4 edges and in toward center lightly, leaving just a bit of white around cupcake. Then sponge with pink ink around the edges only.

Now we attach our colored image to center of the vellum - I used a tape runner, easy-peasy! The tricky part here will be attaching the vellum to the pink/striped background we made earlier. You see, vellum is translucent , and if you use glue or tape to attach it to the background, it will show through and completely spoil all your beautiful work - in short - IT WILL LOOK UGLY! So the trick is to use brads or eyelets to attach it, as shown in the upper left & lower right corners! OR - you could use tape, glue or glue dots to attach it - you just need to cover, or mask, where the tape/glue shows through - as you see in the upper right & lower left corners - a tiny glue dot to attach vellum to background UNDERNEATH & a pretty turquoise rhinestone covering the glue dot on top!!!

The last step is to attach the card front to a white A2 card! Add a little Icicle Stickles glitter glue to the cupcake for added zing and set aside to dry! Tada! It's finished. I hope you had fun reading this and, as always, I hope I've helped to inspire your creativity today! Happy creating & smiles, Laura

PERFECT PEARLS & POLISHED STONE IN ONE CARD

Hello again! Today I've got a card that animal lovers everywhere would love! I designed it using traditional masculine colors, but I know some women, teens & children who would love to get this from me, so I thought I'd share it with you today.

I've combined two techniques in this card - Perfect Pearls & Polished Stone. I'll mostly be discussing how to apply Perfect Pearls with VersaMark here today, so if you aren't familiar with Polished Stone Technique, please refer to my post from February 18th, 2016.

To create these polished stone pieces, I used  5 dye inks - brown, yellow, orange liberally, and just a dash of gray & a deep red - and gold metallic ink, on a 4 /14" x 5 1/2" piece of white glossy CS.
After it dried, I cut 4 pieces from it: 1/8" x 5 1/2" for the bottom strip; 1" x 5 1/2" for the elephant strip; and 1 3/4" x 2 1/2" for the phrase, and stamped the phrase & image with black dye ink, and set them to the side to let the ink dry for a few minutes. I particularly like the way the black ink dried on these elephants - makes them look a little wrinkled, the way elephants are supposed to look!

Next, I folded a 1/2 sheet of 80# black cardstock in half to create the A2 (4 1/4" x 5 1/2") card base.
To create the background, I lightly tapped the entire front of this with an X-Static bag (to reduce static) and randomly stamped the fern image with a Versamark pad. I gently applied the gold Perfect Pearls with a brush (provided in the kit) over the stamped areas, and then "flicked" the back of the the card with my finger a few times to shake off the excess pigment powder. The Perfect Pearls pigment powder adhere to the VersaMark, but not the rest of the card front, producing a shiny & stunning effect!

Finally, I attached the polished stone pieces to the cardfront. I'll be using this as a note card, or perhaps a college graduation card this spring, so left the inside blank for now. But when I do use this card, I'll be writing the note with a gold metallic gel pen, and if I do put a verse inside, it'll be stamped with a gold metallic pad Or maybe embossed with gold embossing powder??? The possibilities are numerous...

Tips & Notes:

*Always use a SOFT brush to apply Perfect Pearls - the softer, the better!
*Ranger recommends using Perfect Medium (a clear ink) to apply Perfect Peals, stating the resins in Perfect Pearls with bind with it, resulting in a permanent image - no need to use a sealant. Personally, I have never had a problem with Perfect Pearls & VersaMark. If you are concerned, you can create a 50/50 water/rubbing alcohol spritz & spray your work with it - the water will bind the resins.

*There are so many more uses for Perfect Pearls pigments - you can add it acrylic & watercolor paints, combine it with embossing powder, and create a spritz by adding a tiny amount to a water/rubbing alcohol solution, just to name a few. Truly a versatile product!

Thanks for stopping by today. I hope I've helped to inspire your creativity! Smiles, Laura

HUMOROUS APOLOGY CARD

Hello everyone! Today's card features "Hollis," a Fronts & Backs stamp set by Art Impressions (you can find their website link in "My Favorites" on the sidebar). Poor Hollis - he looks like he's in deep with the honey! I made this card 2 weeks ago for the Backwards Day Challenge at The Outlawz (you can also find this link in "My Favorites") & it was featured in their gallery February 12 - 18th!

To make this card, I stamped both the front and the back of Hollis on white CS with black Memento ink. Then I used my Spectrum Noir alcohol markers to color in the back image and the head & arms of the front image. Next, I cut out the entire back image AND only the head & arms of Hollis, then attached Hollis' head to his back with pop dots, and mounted & trimmed him with black CS to make the image "pop" on the blue background.

The phrases on the cover & the inside are stamped with an alphabet set (Simple Bet by TAC). I chose this set because I think that the font matched Hollis' personality. It's so important to choose the right font to match the tone of the card! For instance, a nice, neat cursive alphabet font would've been a little too feminine for this card, and wouldn't have the same impact.

Try your hand at creating a humorous card this week! I'd love to hear from you and see what you've come up with. As always, I hope I've helped to inspire your creativity today - Smiles, Laura

Tulip Happy Birthday CARD RECIPE

Skill Level: Easy            Card Type: A2 Quickie

Welcome back everyone! With the weather having been mild (meaning above freezing) the last few days in Michigan's Upper Peninsula, I've been dreaming about Spring and made this card with recipe to celebrate this wonderful & much appreciated warm-up!

Ingredients:

White CS: 5 1/2" x 8 1/2", fold to 4 1/4" x 5 1/2"; 1 1/2" x 2"

Dark Green CS: 4" x 5 1/4"; 1 3/4" x 2 1/4"

Medium Purple CS: 3 3/4" x 5"

Black ink pad

Med, Purple ink pad

Dark Green ink pad

Brilliance Moonlight White Ink pad OR VersaMark Pad

Sheer white 7/8" ribbon (about 4 - 5" length)

Adhesive

Scissors

*OPTIONAL - 1/8" hole punch - I used my Crop-A-Dile Big Bite

Tulip Image & Phrases by TAC (sub in an image you have)

Directions:

1. Fold large piece white CS in half to create A2 card base (4 1/4" x 5 1/2"). Stamp your verse with black ink pad on the inside - set aside.

2. Stamp flower on small white CS with black ink. 

3. Color the image - I used a 2-step stamp set, so I stamped the flower with med. purple ink pad and the leaves with dark green. (You could also use markers, pencils or chalks to color in the image.) Attach the stamped image to the small dark green CS.

4. With Brilliance Ink or VersaMark, stamp the flower image repeatedly on the medium purple CS - create a "random" effect by turning the CS a little each time you stamp the image. Attach this to the large dark green CS. Attach smaller stamped, matted image to center of this purple CS - it should be placed about 1 1/2" from both the bottom & top of green matting, and about 1 1/8" from each side. Stamp phrase in black ink, centered under your main image, as shown in above picture.

5. Use punch to create 2 holes centered about 1/4" above small image, then attach ribbon using these holes. Trim tails to desired length & cut "V" with scissors.

6. Attach your newly created card front to the card base! Wallah! Your card is done!

Ideas: Try adding some bling to this card - a little glitter glue, some pearls or rhinestones, a die cut butterfly, you decide! Also, if you're using VersaMark ink for the purple background, brush on a little pigment, such as Perfect Pearls or Pearl-Ex to create a stunning effect. Have fun experimenting, and I'd love to hear from you and see what you've come up with! I hope I've helped to inspire you today - happy creating ! Smiles, Laura

FAUX LEATHER TECHNIQUE with Liquid Applique

Supplies:

White Liquid Applique
White Cardstock, cut to size needed
Wax paper (I use a sheet about 15" long)
Brayer
Heat Gun
Dye Ink Pads
Sponges

Instructions:

1. Place wax paper on table.
2. Place white CS on one side of the wax paper.
3. On the other side of the wax paper, apply a 3-4" line of Liquid Applique (not too close to the edges). Underneath this line, apply 2-3 more lines (the larger the CS, the more liquid applique you'll need).
4. Roll brayer through the liquid applique lines until brayer is coated, then roll brayer over CS to apply a thin coat of Liquid Applique to entire piece of CS. Depending on the size of your cardstock, you may need to repeat steps 3 & 4 to get a nice coating on your CS.
5. Apply heat to coated CS for a few seconds, until applique dries. Be careful not to overheat! Give the CS a minute or two to cool, then touch it - it should feel soft, like suede leather! If it still feels tacky, apply heat for a few more seconds.
6. RINSE BRAYER with warm soapy water RIGHT AWAY! Do not let liquid applique dry on your brayer, it will be very time consuming to clean later!
7. When your faux leather CS is cool enough to handle, it's time to add some color to it! Sponge color from the dye ink pads you've selected onto your CS. I like to use 3 different colors to give it depth - a light, a medium and a dark tone (use the dark sparingly). In the Faux Leather Moose & Wolf Cards, I used medium terra cotta, a muted yellow and a very small amount of burnt umber.

Color ideas:
Purples with blue; greens with blue; grays with blue.
Pink with purples; pink with reds.
Oranges with red; oranges with yellow.

The combinations are endless, try experimenting with different colors. I'd love to hear from you and see what you've come up with! I hope I have helped to inspire your creativity today! Smiles, Laura

MASCULINE FAUX LEATHER CARDS Moose & Wolf

Hi everyone! Above are two cards utilizing Faux Leather Technique with Liquid Applique - I'll post instructions for this technique tomorrow. Note that I used THE SAME background paper, cardstock & inkpads in both cards, and yet they look so different. Why (other than the images)? I tell you, I love my sponges! A whole new look was created in the 2nd card simply by sponging a terra cotta color ink onto the background paper! The second reason they seem so different lies in the technique itself - its downright impossible to create the EXACT same leather look twice - rendering each card made with this technique an ORIGINAL!

Check back tomorrow for Faux Leather Technique instructions. In the meantime, try making two similar cards, but add a little sponging to the second one! I'd love to hear from you & see what you've come up with.  Hope I have helped to inspire you today - happy creating, Smiles, Laura

Images by TAC

POLISHED STONE CARD

This is another card I made using Polished Stone Technique.
Dye reinkers: 1 shade of green, a medium blue & a dark blue
Metallic reinker: Silver
Cardstock: Teal green & Navy; Glossy White
Ink Pads: Navy dye ink for main image & "Live Life" phrase; Silver metallic for navy background
Embellishments: Scrappers Floss & Teal Square brads
Rubber Stamps by TAC

Hope this will inspire you in your stamping!  If you have any questions about, please ask in the comment section below. Happy Stamping, Laura

POLISHED STONE TECHNIQUE

Supplies:
1/4 sheet Glossy white cardstock (4.25" x 5.5")
2-3 different colored dye re-inkers
1 metallic reinker
Denatured alcohol or 91% or higher rubbing alcohol
Cotton balls
4-5 sheets of scrap paper to work on (this can get a little messy)
Vinyl or Latex gloves (optional - again its a little messy)

Directions:
1. Place 1/4 sheet glossy white CS on your scrap paper.
2. Dip cotton ball in alcohol - squeeze out excess. Apply 2-3 drops of your first reinker color; set on scrap paper (not on CS)
3. Quickly repeat step 1 with remaining colors - use ONE cotton ball for each color.
4. Dab the first colored cotton ball on glossy CS - repeat with remaining colored cotton balls, one at a time, until desired look is achieved. Apply metallic ink cotton ball last.
5. Let CS dry - this usually only takes a few minutes. Congrats - you've done the polished stone technique!


Q: Can I use glossy photo paper?

A: Yes, you can use glossy photo paper - it will produce a slightly different, but still quite stunning look, as compared to the glossy cardstock!


Fun Ideas: You could stamp on this, cut a shape from it with your die cutting machine, heat emboss on it, punch shapes from it with punches, and so much more. Have fun playing!

Cool color combinations to try:
*Shades of red, orange & brown dye ink with copper metallic ink (used in No Such Thing Card) or gold metallic ink.
*Shades of blue & green with silver or gold metallic ink.
*Pinks & Purples with silver or gold metallic ink.
*Yellows & Greens with gold metallic ink.

Have fun experimenting with the colors you have on hand!

NO SUCH THING CARD! Welcome back! This card features image/phrase stamps by TAC. I used polished stone technique (one of my favorites) to create the redish/orange background that the tiger is stamped on, added some twine as a fringe, and mounted on different patterned cardstocks to create the background. On the inside, I sponged kraft/tan CS with burnt umber ink, added a scrap piece of the same patterned CS as on front, and stamped the phrase in black!

Be sure to stop back tomorrow for instructions on POLISHED STONE TECHNIQUE! Happy cardmaking everyone! Smiles, Laura

Butterfly & Flowers Handmade A2 Card "RECIPE"

Designed by Laura Kovala

Ingredients used:

Die cutting machine (I used a Sizzix Big Shot)

Cuttlebug Labels cut & emboss die.

Cuttlebug Grace Medallion cut & emboss die

Spellbinders S4-395 Shapeabilities Les Papillions Butterly Die

Memento Rosebud Inkpad

Memento Tuxedo Black Inkpad

Sponge

Adhesive

Bling: Stickles Icicle & Black Diamond Glitter Glues; self-adhesive rhinestones; Bazzill Bitty Blossoms.

Pop Dots or foam tape

Assorted colors cardstock, listed below:

White CS - 8 1/2” x 5 1/2” (fold to 4 1/4” x 5 1/2”); large scrap cut with Cricut Teresa Collins Basics Digital Set (Lattice) to 4”x 5 1/4”; scrap to cut label with Cuttlebug Labels die; scrap to cut small butterflies with Spellbinders S4-395 die.

Gold Mirricard CS - 1/4 sheet (4 1/4” x 5 1/2”) to cut/emboss Grace Medallion.

Light Pink CS - 4” x 5 1/4”.

Directions:

Cut all die cuts out.

Fold 1/2 sheet white CS to make card base.

Stamp “Mother” with black ink on white label, then sponge edges of label with Rosebud ink; set aside.

Sponge both butterflies with Rosedbud ink, then attach together in center of butterfly only, so that wings of top butterfly can be lifted up to create dimension; set aside.

Next, sponge edges of light pink CS with Rosebud Ink to add depth. Attach white lattice to sponged pink CS with your favorite adhesive. Attach Gold Grace Medallion on top of white lattice. Using pop dots or foam tape, center at an angle & attach “Mother” label to gold medallion.

Attach butterfly securely to upper left of label; lift wings of top butterfly on each side. Attach flowers to lower right of label. Add rhinestone to center of flowers, and to each side of “Mother” on label. Stamp phrases/verse on inside of card using color of your choice - see ideas below.

Using Black Diamond Stickles, draw in antennae above butterfly. Finally, add Icicle Stickles to top Butterfly and in center of lattice openings where pink shows through. Set card aside to dry (1/2 hour to an hour). When dry, sign card, seal in envelope & deliver to the lucky recipient!

Ideas: This would be a great birthday card, thinking of you card, or Mother’s Day card, to name a few. Change the label to “Sister”,“Friend” , “Daughter” or “Just because”, “Happy Birthday” etc... as you see fit! I hope this card recipe inspires your creativity.