Butterfly sympathy card/Lasting Hearts Card Drive

Hi all!

Just popping in quickly to share another card I made for the Lasting Hearts drive. If you haven't heard about it, please click here and it'll take you to Jennifer McGuire's site and you'll read more about this amazing opportunity to #sharehandmadekindness with women who have suffered a miscarriage.

Here's my card:

Although these women are going through a hard time, I didn't want the card to be too somber. So, I decided to use butterflies. I used the Bo Bunny stamp "Flutter" that lets me layer colors and I LOVE how these turned out. I will admit, though, that the MISTI tool was a huge help in lining up the butterflies. The smallest butterfly, since it wasn't layered with another color, looked a bit too plain. So, I added some Wink of Stella to it. Once the butterflies were stamped, I thought the white background was too stark also. I knew I wanted some clouds but wanted them to be really soft in certain places. I decided to stencil them in by making my own stencil! I had seen Jennifer McGuire do this years ago where she took a circle punch and made a scalloped border and used that for the bottom of clouds and it worked! Oh--and the sentiment is from Hero Arts.

I hope you all consider donating cards to this card drive. I'm sure it would mean the world to many women who are hurting.

I'll be submitting my card to the Word Art Wednesday site that has an "anything goes" challenge,

Thanks for stopping by and have a great weekend!
Pat

Lasting Hearts Card Drive

Hi everyone!

I hope everyone is having a good week so far. I also hope that, by now, most of you have heard about the Lasting Hearts Card Drive that several people in the cardmaking world have been promoting. If you haven't heard of it, it's a nonprofit organization that is helping women cope with the pain of a miscarriage. There are books being given to the mom and a handmade card (that's where we can easily help out).

I knew that I needed to send some cards in for this drive because I have walked that road. I was blessed with two sons but I did miscarry in between the two pregnancies. I remember that very strange feeling of knowing that I was pregnant one day and then not pregnant the next. It was a very hard thing to assimilate. So, for that reason, I decided to make some cards. You can get a LOT more information about the card drive by going here to Jennifer McGuire's post about it.

Here's my card:

As I was trying to figure out what design to use for my cards, I found a stack of these notecards and envelopes. I decided to use the Hero Arts purple ombre ink pad and stamped this border (Teresa Collins) twice. Using the MISTI tool for this was SO helpful! Then, I cut a strip of metallic silver paper (DCWV) and a butterfly (Lunette from Memory Box), too. The antennae was from black cardstock. The sentiment is also from Hero Arts.

The reality is that I will never know who receives these cards. I'm perfectly fine with that. I mention this only because, since these will be strangers receiving the cards, the inside of the card should be kept simple. I'll probably just write "You're in my thoughts and prayers. Pat (Washington State). It doesn't have to be an elaborate message...and the card doesn't have to be elaborate, either. It means a lot to people to know that someone is acknowledging their pain and sympathizing with them.

Please, if you have some extra time, consider contributing to the card drive. It'll mean so much to so many. I'm hoping to share another card design for the card drive later this week. I hope you'll join me.

I'll be entering this card in the following challenges:
Simon Says Monday Challenge--Best Friends (I couldn't imagine going thru this kind of an ordeal without my husband, my best friend)
Word Art Wednesday--Anything goes challenge

Have a great week!
Pat

Praying for you Poppy card

Hi everyone!

Today I'm sharing a coloring book page. I colored in the page a couple of weeks ago and just LOVE how it turned out. I wasn't sure if Copics would work on the page but it did pretty well. So, you don't need to always stamp an image--there's tons of adult coloring books available now which could easily be turned into cards when you're done coloring. Here's my card:

The coloring, although it did take some time to complete, was very relaxing! I loved seeing the different contrasts coming up as I layered more and more color. The sentiment is a little hard to see on the picture. It says "Praying for You" and it's from Simon Says Stamp!. I actually die cut it three times and glued them all together so that it's really thick on the card. The other detail that is hard to see in the picture is the glossy accents that I added to the petals and to the center of the flowers. This will be a sympathy card and I thought the rain drops would add a touch of sadness to the beauty of the flowers. I mounted the panel on black cardstock and then to a white card base and the card was done.

I'll be entering the card on several sites. Apparently, several sites have the same challenge--to use something "new" or celebrate something "new". Well, it's the first time I'm using my coloring book on a card and the die (which I LOVE) is also new.

Simon Says Wednesday Challenge--Something New
Simon Says Monday Challenge--Something New
Cute Card Thursday--Hey, What's New? challenge
Word Art Wednesday--Anything goes challenge

Have a great day and thanks for stopping by!
Pat

Distress ink technique--again

Hi all!

Just popping in quickly, again, to share another card. This one uses a technique I learned from Jennifer McGuire and I LOVE it! Here's my card:

Yes, I know it's winter. We actually had an ice storm last night so I'm not seeing any butterflies around. But, that doesn't mean I can make a butterfly for my card.

I started out by masking the sides of a white panel and then heavily applying distress inks to create an ombre effect. Then, I added some pearl perfect pearl powder on top and the shine is amazing! I then used an embossing folder to add some dimension to the panel and that really does add a nice touch. I used the Lunette butterfly die from Memory Box and chose to keep it white against that lovely blue background. But for the antennae I chose to use a brown cardstock. The sentiment is a die cut from Impression Obsession and that makes things so much easier! I don't have to worry about where I'm going to put the sentiment--especially when the panel has a lot of texture on it. Super easy to do but looks amazing when done.

I made a similar card with different colors a few months ago. If you'd like to that card, click here.

I'll be submitting the card in the following challenges:
Word Art Wednesday--anything goes!
Simon Says Wednesday Challenge--a celebration theme

Thanks for stopping by!
Pat

Poppy celebration

Hi everyone!

Happy New Year! I'm popping in really quick to share a card I made a few weeks ago but never got around to posting. I'd never heard of the stamp company but I REALLY like the image.

Here's my card:

The stamp (by Sheena Douglass) is just gorgeous! Nothing makes me happier than coloring in beautiful flowers and this card was just amazing to color. I used Copic markers for the coloring and had so much fun. The sentiment is from Simon Says Stamp and one of my favorites.

I'll be entering this card in the following challenges:
Simon Says Wednesday Challenge: Party theme
Word Art Wednesday: Anything goes

Thanks for stopping by and have a great week!
Pat