Summer Card Camp 2--10 Minute Challenge!

Hi friends!

I wanted to share a card I made this evening to go along with the latest challenge from the online card class--Summer Card Camp 2. The challenge was to make a card in 10 min. NOT AN EASY task! And when you throw into the mix that you could stick to the color palette they assigned, too, the challenge got even harder! But, I came up with an idea and I did, indeed, come in under 10 minutes! I came in at 8 minutes and 30 seconds...and am thinking of making another quick card since I have all the material out anyway! :) Here's my card:

One of the colors assigned was an aqua-colored blue and that was my starting point. I had initially thought of watercoloring a card but quickly realized that would take too much time! I knew I needed to have either die cuts or punched elements b/c that makes the assembly of the card faster and I knew I wanted butterflies. So, I decided on a simple design. Using a turqoise card base, I added a strip of white that had been stamped with an Impression Obsession music stamp (broken china distress ink). Then, I quickly punched out 3 butterflies (Martha Stewart) in the assigned colors and adhered them. Then, I added 3 scored lines to differentiate the white strip from the card base. I added some pearls and the antennae. Then the sentiment (The Craft's Meow--Kindred Spirits) was heat embossed and the card was done.

Unless you've done one of these challenges, you really can't imagine how stressful it is to keep watching the clock and race against it! But, it IS fun!

Thanks for stopping by!
Pat

Thinking of You

Hello everyone!

I'm popping in to share a card I made for a young lady who is struggling right now. Her name is Maddy and if you follow Simon Says Stamp! you probably already heard about her situation. Life isn't fair sometimes. But, we can all help each other through the hard times by encouraging one another and praying for each other. I'm also entering the card into a couple of different challenges in the hopes that more people come by the blog and also make cards for Maddy. First up is the Lawnscaping site that has a CAS challenge. Although the clean and simple look appears easy, it's actually not and I struggle with wanting to put more on the card when I participate in these types of challenges. The second challenge is from the Word Art Wednesday site. The challenge is "anything goes" but it also wants us to add an encouraging word. So, although the sentiment on my card is simply "thinking of you" it is an encouraging one for someone who is going through such a hard time. Below you'll find my card and the challenge badge.

I started out by using a VERY old square punch from Creative Memories to make those 3 windows. I then used a Flourish embossing folder from Cuttlebug and used my scoring board to add a couple of lines in between the embossed area and the windows. I punched out some butterflies (Martha Stewart) and then added some pearls to the center. Then, I stamped the sentiment (Teresa Collins, I believe) and heat embossed it. I layered the front of the card to some dark navy cardstock so that the butterflies would stand out a bit and then the card was done. Pretty easy...but hoping it brings a smile to Maddy's face. Please, if you have a bit of extra time, consider making a card for her. You can send cards to this address:

St. Jude Children's Research Hospital
Maddy Justice-Patient
262 Danny Thomas Place
Attention Mail Stop 108
Memphis, TN 38105

Hope everyone had a wonderful long weekend! See you soon!
Pat

A Mother's Day card

Hi again!

Here to share another card I made tonight for Mother's Day. If you head over to V's Sweet Ideas, you'll see this is the latest challenge over there and with Mother's Day right around the corner--it's a perfect time to play along! Also, there's a color challenge at Inkspirational AND A Blog Named Hero challenged us to use glitter, bling, etc on our card. That's right--three challenges in one! :) You'll find my card and the challenge badges below:

Let me begin by saying that, for those that have been seeing my cards these past couple of weeks, yes, I am using a lot of embossed cards right now. I took my cuttlebug on vacation with me and embossed tons of cardstock so that I could come back and finish the cards any way I wanted. And I still have a lot of embossed cardstock so don't be surprised if you keep seeing different variations for the next few months! :) Although, truth be told, it's a great way to get some prep work done beforehand.

Now, for this particular card I used shaded lilac distress ink and added some dusty concord to the edges of the sentiment, too. The color is a very soft purple color. I wanted to use a darker purple for the butterfly and used a Martha Stewart punch for the butterfly and added some bling to it. I also added some gems to the center of the flowers and also used my glitter pen on the smaller flowers. It's hard to see in the picture but you can see it a bit on the flowers towards the top of the card. Looks really nice in life real. I also wanted the butterfly to appear as if it was on a fence so I used the Hero Arts Lattice stamp and placed that behind the butterfly. I added some ribbon, the sentiment, some stitching and we were done.

Thanks for stopping by!
Pat

Another Trio of cards

I've been busy today--and this is my 3rd post for the day! I just finished an order for client and wanted to share a trio of cards I made for her and that I'm entering into the Anything Goes challenge at the Simon Says Stamp! blog. Here are my cards: With spring coming right around the corner, I chose to make several cards with butterflies. I used an Impression Obsession music stamp and used some seasonal distress inks to make a monochromatic look. The butterflies were punched using a Martha Stewart punch and I love how delicate the butterflies look. I inked the edges of the card for a more defined border and then added pearls to the butterflies. I love ending the day with inky fingers! :)

Thanks for stopping by!
Pat

MOJO 202 and Lawnscaping Challenge!

OK,

I know I've posted quite a bit these last 2 days but we're off to vacation for awhile and not sure when I'll get a chance to post again...SO, might as well play a bit before we leave! :)

Every Monday is the new MOJO sketch and this week's was a fun one! You can find the sketch here:

But I also loved the challenge on Lawnscaping so I thought I'd use the same card for that challenge, too. It's all about distressing on that challenge and you can find the details here:

So, here's my card:

I started out w/some bright orange cardstock that was a bit too bright for the patterned paper. So, I took some vintage photo distress ink and inked it up to tone it down some. Then, using a scrap from DCWV's Stack 6, I laid the main panel down. Then I took my white pen and added faux stitching all around the card. Then, I took my small Fiskars (I think?) butterfly punch and punched out 3 tiny butterflies in a nice maroon color. Decided to add a bit of bling to them w/some light green jewels and then added a few more jewels on the to border of the main panel. Then, I used one of my labels from Sizzix to rest the main butterfly on. I cut it out w/my cuttlebug and used a light blue gelato to watercolor the label. I wanted it a bit darker, though, so I used some Chipped Saphire Distress Ink and inked up the edges of the label. Then, I grabbed my favorite Martha Stewart butterfly punch and adhered that butterfly to the label. I added some antennae to the butterfly w/a black glaze pen and then some pearls to make it stand out even more. The "Happy Birthday" sentiment was from the dollar bin at the Craft Warehouse store. And it was done...I was surprised at how quickly I dreamed it up! :)

Now off to get ready for the vacation...packing...ugh!

Hope everyone's having a great day and thanks for stopping by!