Hello friends and happy December!  Today I am sharing this card on the Butterfly Reflections, Ink blog, but before I get to my card, I wanted to share with you all that I got to visit the Butterfly Reflections, Ink store last weekend when I was nearby traveling for Thanksgiving.  Not only did I get to check out the awesome store, but I got to meet Vanessa in person, and on her birthday!  I was amazed by the amount of inventory in the store and the space is so well organized and clean.  I didn't even get to see nearly everything I wanted and I was there for almost two hours!  I can't wait to go back again (without my husband)!  If you are ever in the Kingston, New Hampshire (or greater Portsmouth/Manchester area) you must stop by,
it's really worth the visit.

Now for today's card. . . I used a stamp set that I purchased when I was at the store last week, although it has been on my list since it was released.  This set is called "Cocoa Stand" by Avery Elle.  I did also combine it with the "Snow Buddies" stamp set from Honey Bee Stamps to create an even larger scene.  Turquoise, red and brown are one of my favorite Christmas color combinations.  It's very fresh and modern feeling.

For the base of this slimline card, I cut a piece of turquoise cardstock measuring 8 1/2" x 3 1/2" long. I cut a 8 1/4" x 3 1/4" piece of Bristol Smooth cardstock to ink blend the background.  I used Tim Holtz Distress Oxide ink in Peacock Feathers and covered the cardstock with the ink before adhering this distressed background to the card base.  I cut a 8 1/4" x 1 1/4" piece of white cardstock and created a snowbank along the bottom edge of the cards to ground all of my images.  Along this border, I added Lawn Fawn Chunky Glitter for added sparkle.  I stamped all of the images from the Cocoa Stand stamp set in Memento Tuxedo Black ink on Neenah Solar White Smooth cardstock and colored them with Copic markers.  I then used the coordinating Cocoa Stand Elle-ment dies to cut all the images. also stamped all of the images from the Honey Bee Stamps Snow Buddies stamp set in Memento Tuxedo Black ink on Neenah Solar White smooth cardstock and colored these images with Copic markers.  I also die cut these using the Snow Buddies Honey Cuts dies.  Then I began to form a scene just by placing the different images onto the card to where I was happy with the layout.  I adhered most of the images to the card with foam adhesive.  Lastly, I used a white gel pen and added little dots all over the card to resemble snow. 

I hope you have enjoyed today's card.  Thanks for visiting and have a wonderfully creative day!

Hi friends!  Today I am sharing this winter treat project on the Butterfly Reflections, Ink website.  Next weekend, four girlfriends, my mom, and I are going on our annual craft retreat in Connecticut.  I'm looking forward to a long three-day weekend of crafting, chatting and chillaxing!  This weekend might be particularly chilly too because our local news is already starting to report the first snow for Friday!  It looks like I picked the perfect treat to make for everyone.  It's kind of a tradition for each of us to make small gifts for the other ladies when we go on one of these retreats. This year I chose to put hot cocoa packets into these Lawn Fawn goodie bags!  I wanted to also attach a candy cane, but surprisingly enough I couldn't find any in my local CVS or craft store and Amazon wanted $18 for a dozen! That's just plain crazy!

I chose three colors that are one of my favorite winter combos - Red, turquoise and kraft.  I think these colors are very fun, fresh and festive.  I cut the bags using the Lawn Fawn Goodie Bag die.  *Note, each bag does take a full sheet of 8 1/2" x 11" paper, so it does consume a fair amount of paper.  I assembled the bag using Lawn Fawn 1/4" tear tape. 

To decorate each goodie bag, I used the Holiday Skates stamp set from Avery Elle. I stamped two skates, one candy cane and two branches for each bag.  I stamped the skates and candy cane in Memento Tuxedo black ink and colored them with Copic markers.  I stamped the branches in both kraft ink and turquoise ink and used the coordinatingHoliday Skates die Elle-ments to cut them out. 

I stamped the sentiment "your friendship warms my heart" in Versamark ink on red, kraft or turquoise cardstock and heat embossed it with Lawn Fawn white embossing powder.  The sentiment is from the Concord & 9th Winter Wear stamp set. I die cut each sentiment out using the Lawn Fawn Fancy Folded Banners Lawn Cuts.  I adhered the skates to the front of the goodie bag using foam adhesive and tied a little bow in red ribbon at the top.  I adhered the ribbon with glue dots.  Lastly, I put a packet of hot cocoa and some tissue paper in the bag and adhered the sentiment to the top of the bag. 

These goodie bags were quick and easy to make and I think my friends will really enjoy sipping their cocoa when we are all gathered together in the living room next weekend catching up on the last year's worth of life events.

Thanks for visiting and have a wonderfully creative day!

Hello readers and happy Friday!  Yay for the weekend!  Today I have a card to share with you that is WAY outside of my color comfort zone!   Each month, one of my fellow DT members creates a mood board for the Butterfly Reflections, Ink blog and it is designed to help inspire you to create.  Perhaps you are inspired by the colors and textures or the patterns and the images.  A mood board is simply a starting place to build from.  This month Davina from Popsicle Creates is also so graciously offering (at her own expense) a $20 gift certificate to the Butterfly Reflections, Ink store!  All you have to do is make a card inspired by the mood board (see below) and enter your card on her website link-in.  One lucky winner will be chosen at random at the end of the month. 

At first I was very skeptical about these colors - salmon, curry, mint and teal.  Yikes!  Green and yellow together?  Meh.  I don't know about this!  But, as I got to coloring this fall wreath below, I LOVE it!  

The base of this A2 sized card is made from Crumb Cake cardstock.  Using the Gina Marie Scalloped Stitched Nesting Rectangle dies, I cut a piece of Neenah Solar White Smooth cardstock for my first mat.  On a separate sheet of white cardstock, I stamped both wreaths and extra pumpkins and mushrooms from the Fall Foliage stamp set in Memento Tuxedo Black ink.  I colored in the images with Spectrum Noir alcohol ink markers and began to arrange them into an oval patterns on the card.  Once I had the placement of the images into a layout I was content with, I adhered the colored images to the card with 3M foam adhesive for added dimension.  I heat embossed the sentiment in the middle of the card with gold embossing powder.  Lastly, I added a coat of Clear Wink of Stella to the colored images for added sparkle.

Here is the beautiful new Fall Foliage stamp set (with coordinating dies) from Avery Elle:

I am still so pleasantly surprised that I ended up loving the colors of this mood board.  Now I want to create this card in ALL the colors!  Thanks, Davina, for inspiring me to step outside of the box.

Thanks for visiting and have a great weekend!

Hello readers and happy Monday!  Welcome back from a very H-O-T weekend!  It was WAAAAAAYYyyy too hot and humid for me, so I was happily crafting away in my craft room creating some fun shark cards for you!  This coming Sunday, July 28th, kicks off the official 2019 Discovery Channel shark week.  Unlike all the 4th of July cards, Easter cards and St. Patrick's Day cards I failed to inspire you with, this year I'm actually ahead of the ball for sharing ideas for shark week!

The base of this A2 sized card is made from Coastal Cabana cardstock.  I cut a  5 1/4" x 4" sheet of a cloud patterned background paper (not sure who made this!) for the bottom layer.  I die cut a piece of a previously made alcohol ink background using the Lawn Fawn Stitched Waves Borders die and used the Lawn Fawn Slide On over wave dies to create a slider component for the shark in the water.  I die cut the sun from Lawn Fawn Rainbow Scallop paper and adhered it to the top of the card.  I stamped the sharks and surfboards in Memento Tuxedo black ink and colored them with Spectrum Noir alcohol ink markers.  Using a Uniball white gel pen I added highlights to the images.  I cut a circle and dry embossed it with a polka dot folder to create an island in the background.  I die cut two Lawn Fawn Palm Trees to add to the island from Crumb Cake cardstock and Early Espresso cardstock for the coconuts. I used the white gel pen to add a few more highlight to the palm trees.  I adhered all the images to the card using 3M foam adhesive for added dimension.

Here is the Hello Chum stamp set by Avery Elle that I used to create this card:

Thanks for visiting and happy creating!

 In hindsight, I probably should have saved today's card to share in July during "Shark Week," but, it's simply too cool NOT to share now!  Last week I mentioned that I was very interested in creating cards with unique folds, outside of a traditional book fold.  I shared this easel card recently and there will be more easel cards to come.  But, today's card?  Holy WOW!  This "fold" is called a "box card" and I made it using the Lawn Fawn Scalloped Box Pop Up Lawn Cuts. 

Sure, it might look very detailed and impossible, but, if you break it down, one image at a time, it is not difficult to create.  Time consuming, yes, but challenging no.  Most of the time involved is simply a matter of coloring all the images and die cutting them out.  However, the Lawn Fawn Scalloped Box die makes it really easy to create the box card base.  Then, it's all just a matter of adding layers and images until you create a desired scene. 

Here is the "Hello Chum" stamp set by Avery Elle that I used to create today's card:

Below is the box folded flat.  It would fit into a regular A2 sized envelope (if that palm tree weren't quite sticking out!)  But, let's face it, I'm not sending this card to anyone after the hours of work it took to complete!

I really hope you enjoy today's "shark in a box" card! 
Please join me on Saturday, June 15th and you can make this card too!  Can't make this class?  For a list of other upcoming events, please click HERE.