Butterfly Window Card

Let me begin today's post by saying how much fun we all had at my Spring Open House Party last Sunday.  I feel like I have the best people ever coming to my classes and events!  We enjoyed visiting, seeing displays (in my 'new' studio), refreshments, a fun game sheet, and - of course - creating together.  I'll share our 2 card projects in another post.  (You saw the Mini Pizza Box in my last post.)  My next party will be in June, so go ahead and put June 23 on your calendars. 

IN MY NEXT POST, I'LL ANNOUNCE THE PARTY WINNERS.  COME BACK AND CHECK IT OUT.

If you could not attend my Spring Open House, here is our Hostess Code.  It will be active through March 19.

HOSTESS CODE:  4PJMD44D

Now... on to today's project...

Sometimes you get a design idea in your head and, even though you know this will be an involved process to create, you just have to do it.  Thus, my 'Butterfly Window' card was born.  I love it and it was one of the class favorites at our last Scraps and Prayers class.  We had so much fun!!! 
And ... speaking of fun ... the Scraps and Prayers class is almost full already for April.  If you are thinking of signing up for this one (We'll be working with Brusho!!!) please pay to register ASAP so you won't miss out.  I can't wait for this one.  OK, back to the window card ...

Behind the oval window is a gorgeous, soft shimmer of Coastal Cabana.  It's Coastal Cabana reinker mixed with Frost White Shimmer Paint.  You just pour a little bit of the paint onto one of our Silicone Craft Sheets, add 2 or 3 drops of reinker, and mix them together with a toothpick.  It's quick and easy and you can probably get several card projects out of your mixture.  You apply it in a circular motion, using a Sponge Dauber.  I used watercolor paper for this part of the card, to give it just one more touch of texture.

The subtle texture added to the Coastal Cabana layer of the card just adds so much to it.  The TIEF is actually called Subtle.
TIP:
Lightly spritz your card stock with alcohol before embossing it and you'll get an even deeper texture when you run it through the Big Shot.  I just put some rubbing alcohol into a travel sized spray bottle.

UP NEXT:
If you could not attend my Spring Open House, here is our Hostess Code.  It will be active through March 19.

HOSTESS CODE:  4PJMD44D

April 8 --- Scraps and Prayers / 5:30-7:30 / $18.
We're going to have a blast playing with BRUSHO.  We're going to make several beautiful cards using Brusho ... AND ... I'll show you how you could make your own Swatch Book at home, to highlight some of the many fun ways to use Brusho.
THIS CLASS IS ALREADY ALMOST FULL, SO DON'T WAIT TOO LONG TO REGISTER.  YOUR PAYMENT HOLDS YOUR SPOT. 

SAVE THE DATE:   

June 23 --- Summer Open House Party with our new catalog.

CONTACT ME IF YOU NEED A CATALOG.

Laugh Cry Smile Card

Laugh ... Cry ... Smile ... Repeat.  That kind of sums up daily life sometimes.  Thankfully, I've been able to have the laugh / smile parts the most.  That's good.  I love the text of this card.  The whole thing came out quite pretty.  Of course it would, with this gorgeous DSP and all the butterflies:)

I added Champagne Mist Shimmer Paint to the punched butterfly.  I attached him by just the middle of his body, so his wings could be more dimensional.  The card base is one of our newer colors - Balmy Blue.  It's a really pretty shade of blue.

I covered the envelope flap with the DSP and then used a left-over strip to perk up the front.  Fancy:)

UP NEXT:

March 11 --- Scraps and Prayers / 5:30-7:30 / $18.
We'll be working with thinlits and framelits, doing some heat embossing, and adding a bit of Shimmer Paint to our beautiful cards. 

SAVE THE DATE:   
March 17 --- 
                 Spring Open House Party / 2:00-5:00 
                              (Yes, it's on MARCH 17.)
                 Grand Re-Opening of my Studio

April 8 --- Scraps and Prayers / 5:30-7:30 / $18.
We're going to have a blast playing with BRUSHO.  I decided that we'll use it for card making, rather than creating a Swatch Book, but I'll show you how you could make your own Swatch Book at home.

CONTACT ME IF YOU NEED A CATALOG.

Carousel Pony Card with Brusho Background ... and ... A Word About Brusho

When my kids were little and now, with my grandkids, I love to take them to ride on a carousel.  They love it and I love watching their smiling faces.  I usually get quite a few photos during it all, too.  With the card I'm sharing today, I used Brusho to create a beautiful background.

I've used Wisteria Wonder (See, I AM using it more now:) and Elegant Eggplant to compliment the Brusho background.  I love using Brusho to create backgrounds because you get such a fabulous blend of shades of colors.  In this case, lots of blues and purples.

So my pony would show up well on the background, I embossed him with Black EP.

I added a pony to the envelope, as well.  When using a dark color for the card base, as with this card, I add a piece of white CS on the inside.  I stamped a pony there, too:)  I love this card!

Next week, I'll have 4 posts coming up where I'll share more projects using Brusho.

A word about Brusho ...
Are you wondering what this is?  These highly pigmented watercolor crystals are made in the UK.  They come in teeny tiny bottles.  You just poke a tiny hole in the top and sprinkle out a few crystals.  Trust me, you don't need many at all.  I think my supplies will last at least until my 100th birthday.
You can use them in a variety of ways.   There are lots and lots of posts on Pinterest about this product.  I bought mine on Amazon.  You can buy a little set or individual colors.  I recently purchased a video about more ways to use Brusho.  I can't wait to watch it!

- Thanks for stopping by my corner of the blogging world. 

- Click on the tab at the top to see my class schedules. 

- Look on the left for sneak peeks and registration policies. 

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- Come  back often for more creative inspiration. 

Mossy Meadow Thoughts and Prayers

Before I share today's card with you, I just want to say that our Scraps and Prayers group had a wonderful time last night.  What a great group of ladies.  Everyone did a super job on the project and I'm already looking forward to next month's patriotic layout project.

Now, for today's card:  Using our Thoughts and Prayers stamp set and a bit of sponging, I created a beautiful window card.  With this card, it's all the added little details that bump it up a notch.

I used our new Baked Brown Sugar Baker's twine for the card.  It's extra thick and gorgeous.  For the button, the Baker's Twine was too think to go through the holes, so I tied a knot and attached it with Liquid Tombow.  I frayed the ends of the twine and love the look!  Can you see some gold accents?  That's done with our Gorgeous Grunge stamp set.  I love that set because you can do so much with it!

I used one of our oval framelits to cut the window in the front of the card.
I sponged Hello Honey, Tangelo Twist and Mossy Meadow onto the white CS, stamped my image with black StazOn ink, and attached it to the inside of the card.
It was a challenge photographing this card because the wind picked up and I nearly lost it twice as it started to sail over the railing and into the bushes.  Yikes!

- Thanks for stopping by my little corner of the blogging world. 

- Click on the tab at the top of the page to see my class schedules and registration policies or click on the left for sneak peeks. 

- Come back soon and come back often for more creative inspiration.

Sometimes, you have to make it yourself... and last Sneak Peek

To complete today's card, I searched through all my stash of buttons and brads.  That's quite an accomplishment because I have tons of them!  I could not find the right kind of button that I needed for my card.  I needed to use one that I had a supply of on hand, so everyone could use the same for my Friday Night Cards class this Friday.  I did not have it, so I made my own.

I have been wanting to try our new Simply Pressed Clay and I was, pun intended, just simply pressed for time to get around to it.  My card was completely finished except for the final embellishment, so I dropped everything and got out my clay.  It was so fun and easy!!!  I made all the buttons and flowers from the molds, so I could have more for using later.  You get 2 molds in the package.  One makes 3 sizes of flowers and the other makes 3 sizes of buttons.  I will be making a lot more of these.  You can color them in a variety of ways but, for this card, I just wanted white.  Here's my card.

Isn't my clay flower cute?  I love it!  I attached it with Liquid Tombow Adhesive.  I've seen versions of this card here and there online, including on the Stampin' Up! site and really liked the bright and cheery look of it.  At my class, I'll share with you how I made the stamped, oval frame.

After I had the front layer totally finished, I thought it looked a little plain.  It was too late to emboss it because I didn't want the frame embossed, so I got out my new Gorgeous Grunge stamp set that I got at Convention and added some texture to it with stamping.  I love this set and look forward to using it a lot in the future.

So, now that I've shown you all the cards for my Friday Night Cards class (August 9), would you like to see them again - all together?  Here you go:

- Thanks for stopping by my little corner of the blogging world. 

- Click on the tab at the top of the page to see my class schedules and registration policies or click on the left for sneak peeks. 

- Come back soon and come back often for more creative inspiration.