A rainbow of butterflies

 

I'd like to start this post by saying "Bonjour" to my friends in France and "Dzień dobry" to my friends in Poland. I'm thrilled to have so many people from around the world visiting my blog - especially those people who don't speak English as their native tongue. Welcome!

 

 

I've been rearranging items on my stamp table and came across this beautiful card from my friend and club member, Dani. This card is too cute to not share! Dani diecut a butterfly out of cork, layered an embossed butterfly on top and added a cute tag and bow out of baker's twine. I love the crimping on the paper strip under the colorful little butterflies held together with mini silver brads. Dani is one of those people I've known for years and I'm proud to call her a friend. She's very considerate and thoughtful. Thanks for the terrific card, Dani!

Take a moment this week to appreciate a teacher

 

It's Teacher Appreciation Week May 6-10. The principal and secretary at my kids' middle school asked if I could bring in a little something today, so I made colorful butterflies with an Andes mint and a stamped note. The Big Shot made quick work of the butterflies - I die-cut three at a time.

 



I used the Beautiful Butterflies Bigz die for the Big Shot with many patterns from the International Bazaar designer paper, and used glue dots to adhere an Andes mint. The sentiment is from Occasions Alphabet. It's adhered to the mint with a dimensional.

Please take a moment this week to jot off a quick note to a favorite teacher. It'll mean the world to him or her!

Stamps: Occasions Alphabet;
Ink: Early Espresso pad;
Paper: Whisper White, International Bazaar dsp;
Accessories: Big Shot, Beautiful Butterflies Bigz die, mini glue dots, Stampin' Dimensionals, Ticket Duo Builder punch.

To order any or all of these items, please visit my Online Store at http://TheRubberRoom.stampinup.net. Thanks! Terry

Fabulous swaps from my American Ink team of demonstrators

 

Take Care was the stamp set I chose for my American Ink swaps this month. I had the idea to use the Woodgrain embossing folder on Pool Party Core'dinations paper (Spring Catalog - ends April 30!), sanding it so the woodgrain stands out. This is my tree trunk, then I stamped and cut out a limb, the nest and eggs separately, then adhered them over each other. The sentiment is from Take Care, as well. The only colors I used were Pool Party and Early Espresso inks. Now for the rest of my team's swaps:

 

 

Puddin' used the Forever Young stamp set with some spectacular sponging, Label Framelits and piercing, and a builder brad.

 

 

Mary Ann used a Best of Birthdays stamp, along with 2013 Sale-a-Bration items Sycamore Street dsp and button, and the Vine embossing folder.

 

 

Kim used Parker's Patterns dsp with Animal Talk and natural trim, as well as Windows Collection Framelits.

 

 

Ginette's swap used a handful of punches and the Fancy Fans embossing folder with Teeny, Tiny Wishes and rhinestones.

 

 

Butterflies ruled Frankie's Delightful Dozen and Papillion Potpourri swap with both sizes of butterfly punches and the scallop trim border punch.

 

 

Bonnie's pocket card hit four birthday candles and used the Best of Birthdays stamp set with the Modern Label and Scallop Trim border punches.

 

 

And finally, Barb A.'s beautiful swap used the Little Leaves Sizzlit with the Fancy Fan folder and Papillion Potpourri stamp set and coordinating small butterfly punch. Barb said she CASE'd this from fellow demo Deena Boos at My Home Grown Art.

 

My American Ink group gets together to stamp, eat, share business ideas, promotions, and stamping tips and tricks the second Saturday of every month at my studio at 11 a.m. Stray demos are always welcome. Please contact me if you need more information, at ericandterry@comcast.net. Thanks!











 



Sharing cards from a couple of new friends

I want to share a couple of cards with you today from new friends. The top one is from a 14-year-old girl named Sahara. I met her at the Kitsap Arts & Crafts Festival a few weekends ago, and then she came to visit me at my studio. I gifted her with some stamps, inks and paper. She loves crafting! There's no minimum age! Sahara sent me this adorable thank-you card.

Kathleen is a new friend of mine from Silverdale. I love how elegant this card looks with the black and white palette and the embossing on the butterflies and card front. Lovely!

Having friends like these reminds me how crafting has brought some wonderful people into my life. I'm extremely grateful!

Beautiful Wings embosslits thank-you card

My friend, Kathleen, made this card for me. I love how elegant the black and white looks with the embossed butterflies and white layer. She used the Postage Stamp Punch for the sentiment. Thanks Kathleen!

Fabulous You for a downline birthday greeting

This is a special card for a special lady. It's an easel card using the Scallop Square Bigz Clear Die, silver glimmer paper, and the Fabulous You stamp set, complete with a Vintage Faceted Designer Button.

I think the black, white and silver makes for an elegant card. I free-hand stamped the "Happy" and "Birthday" stamps from Memorable Moments on a 1-3/4" punched circle and was happy I hit it just right! Of course there was room for a little more "bling" too.

The sentiment from the Fabulous You set is stamped above the strip of silver glimmer paper inside, and the butterfly completes the 3-piece stamp set. Let me know what you think, okay?

I hope you enjoy your Sunday!

Stamps: Fabulous You (page 39), Memorable Moments (page 139);
Ink: Jet Black StazOn;
Paper: Whisper White, Basic Black, Silver Glimmer;
Accessories: Scallop Square Bigz Clear Die, Big Shot, Vintage Faceted Designer Button, rhinestones, mini glue dots, Stampin' Dimensionals, 1/8" Basic Black taffeta ribbon.

Berry Blossom striped butterfly card

I love the beautiful simplicity of this Stripes-embossed Whisper White card. I CASE'd this from Deb Currier. My 2-inch circle features Berry Blossom dsp, along with a Wisteria Wonder butterfly diecut with the butterflies embosslit. I'm trying to use up my rhinestone brads, so that's what we used at my 10-card class yesterday. The sentiment is from A Word For You.

How to make a Designer Rosette - the easy way

I've had the Designer Rosette die from the Occasions Mini for months now, but just used it yesterday to make some big rosettes for a craft fair I'm doing this month. I thought I could make one rosette from one 12" x 12" piece of designer paper, so I cut up a few sheets and ran them through. I used a hot-glue gun to adhere the ends together, but when I tried to close the rosette, it felt tight. Too tight. I ended up ripping a couple! That's frustrating, to say the least.

So I'm sharing this short Stampin' Up! video with you to show you the proper way to get excellent results without tearing your paper. Let me know how it works for you! I'm happy....

Butterfly jewelry box with mini glue dot rim

 

This jewelry box is so pretty! I saw a version of this - pink and with First Edition dsp - on the Stampin' Up! cruise to Alaska last year. SU! Co-founder Shelli Gardner demonstrated it. It's been in my head for a year, as I continued to save the inside cardboard rims of my Mini Glue Dots. I covered my box with Beau Chateau dsp, then stamped the frame from Forever Young in Marina Mist ink. I diecut the butterfly from the Beautiful Butterflies die for the Big Shot (using First Edition dsp), and spread Tombow Liquid Adhesive around the butterfly to hold on Silver Glass Glitter for bling, along with a silver glimmer brad. The sentiment is from Teeny, Tiny Wishes, sponged around with Marina Mist ink. And just more than an inch of pleated satin ribbon, held on with Sticky Strip, holds the lid to the base, making it easy to open and close.



Here's how it looks inside. I could've done a nicer job (you always notice in the close-up photo) trimming the strip of designer paper that lines the inside of the rim, as well as the outside. I used more liquid adhesive and chunky glitter around the bottom rim. The designer paper was punched with the 2-1/2" circle punch and adhered to the same size Marina Mist card stock circle for more support.
Those in my American Ink group who qualified for our American Ink Rewards (AIR) got to make this project a week ago.
You can order the items used to make this jewelry box at my Online Store here. Don't forget that you'll get a FREE 2012-2013 Stampin' Up! Catalog shipped to you separately for any order over $50. Thanks!

Stamps: Forever Young (item 122570 wood; 1222572 clear), Teeny Tiny Wishes (115370 wood);
Ink: Marina Mist pad (item 119668, $5.95);
Paper: Very Vanilla (item 101650, $8.50), Marina Mist (item 119682, $6.95), Beau Chateau (item 122357, $8.21), First Edition dsp (item 121878, $12.95);
Accessories: Silver Glass Glitter (item 120995, $3.95); Tombow Liquid Adhesive (item 110755, $3.95), 2-1/2" circle punch (item 120906, $16.95), Big Shot (item 113439, $99.95), Beautiful Butterflies Bigz Die (item 114507, $21.95), Basics Glimmer Brads (item 121003, $4.95).

Embossed metal garden stake for your favorite plant

I love how quickly and easily this metal garden stake came together. Shirley gave me some aluminum flashing she had gathering dust in her garage, and my hubby stripped some regular household wire into three pieces - copper, white and black. He said I could further strip the black and white to copper, but I didn't. I used a black piece of 12-gauge wire for my garden stake.

I ran a piece of flashing I cut with my craft and rubber scissors through the 3-1/2" Circle die for the Big Shot, then embossed it with the Elegant Lines embossing folder. I had enough room on my scrap to make a butterfly, so I embossed that with polka dots. I used the Crop-a-dile to make the holes and fastened a clear crystal bauble (retiring) with a lobster claw at the bottom, and used pliers to twist the wire after threading it through the top hole. I used a filigree flower and brad to hold the butterfly onto the circle. It really shines!

I had to lay the stake down for the photo, which is why the crystal looks like it's not hanging right, but it does, and it's beautiful! I had 13 downline members qualify for my American Ink Rewards (AIR) program, and this was one of the projects they got to make last week. I was thinking this stake would go outside, but I love looking at it, so it's going in a household plant in the middle of my kitchen.

Tea Shoppe pocket tea bag insert



I created this Petite Pocket with a tea bag insert tag for a few Opportuni-Tea Events I scheduled during Sale-a-Bration. My team has added 22 people since July! I think that's phenomenal! This Tea Shoppe project is CASE'd from one Stampin' Up! co-founder Shelli Gardner made at Leadership Conference in January. I simply changed the colors.



There's some cutting out of the teacup, a label framelit, a punched flower and pearl, Cherry Cobbler seam binding, some Beau Chateau dsp and an eyelet border.

The stamped tag fits inside the Petite Pocket. I cut out another teacup to adhere to the tag on the tea bag, and adhered the teabag to the tag with a mini glue dot. The Everyday Enchantment butterfly brad through the Modern Label gives you a good surface to pull the tag out of the pocket. A hot cup of tea actually sounds good about now! See ya.

My first Scallop Square (aka Rag) Quilt!

I love Stampin' Up!'s Spice Cake fabric, and have been wanting to make a simple quilt with it for some time. Yesterday I finally found a few hours to diecut the scallop squares, add batting and sew them together.

Here's why it's called a Rag Quilt. This is the back side:

You see all of the scallop edges on this side. I started with four packages of Spice Cake fabric. I didn't iron or wash it first, though you may choose to. I ran the fabric through the Big Shot on the Clear Scallop Square die.

It'll cut 8 layers at a time. I got 15 squares out of each fat square (or 45 squares per box of fabric).

I sandwiched batting between two squares and sewed it in an X to hold it all together.

Then I sewed the squares into rows, and the rows into the quilt. Four packages of fabric gives you a baby blanket-sized quilt (9 squares x 10 squares). I added a few more rows this morning, and may still add to it. When I've used up all the Spice Cake fabric I have (4 more boxes!), I'll add a seam binding all the way around. Then I'll wash it to make it feel all soft and squishy. I know I'm a hack quilter, but it was the one way I could think of that I could have a quilt the same day I started it! I made my first quilt last year with my neighbor's help. She's a professional who assisted while I created a twin-bed sized blanket. Then I took it down the hill to get the all-over stitching. So what do you think?

Happy Valentine's Day to you and yours!

Happy Valentine's Day! This heart easel card (CASE'd from Diana Gibbs) reminds me of a box of chocolates. I used the Hearts Framelits and Riding Hood Red pleated satin ribbon, as well as a handful of punches - Word Window, Modern Label, and Full Heart. This was one of the projects I had at my Valentines Class a couple of weeks ago. Sweet, eh? I wish you all an absolutely lovely day!

Everyday Enchantment dsp for L-O-V-E banner

I love the colors and patterns in the Everyday Enchantment dsp you can get for free when you order $50 (thru March 31) from the Sale-a-Bration Mini Catalog. I used Poppy Parade, Pool Party, Early Espresso and Calypso Coral.

I used the Big Shot and the Hearts Framelits to cut these two heart sizes. You can mix or match the double-sided patterned paper however you like. There are a lot of options!

To make the rosette, accordian-fold on the 1/4-inch score lines and adhere the ends together.

Just push down the center and stick it on your hot glued heart or Sticky Strip. Since I was prepping 10 banner kits, and each kit gets 4 rosettes, I scored 12" x 12" pieces of Everyday Enchantment dsp every quarter inch on the Simply Scored tool, then cut them into 1-1/4" strips. Again, you have a lot of choices for which pattern you want. Hot glue works the best to hold the rosettes together, as well as onto the layered hearts, and it's faster than using Sticky Strip.

I used the Full Heart punch for these hearts, and ran Very Vanilla card stock through the Big Shot with the Alphabet Simple Letters dies. The letters are attached with Stampin' Dimensionals.

My downline, Michelle, actually had the idea of using these Blossom-punched flowers to hold the banner together. There's a solid flower and a patterned flower. Mix and match for the combo you like and add an Everyday Enchantment brad (another SAB freebie that also comes with two colors of ribbon!). I used a bone folder to curl up the petals.

There are a couple ways to connect the hearts together - with Pool Party ruffled ribbon - with bows at each end. Or hot-glue the blossoms onto the hearts to hold them together, and the ribbon is just at the ends. Either way is cute! I have my L-O-V-E banner hanging in the foyer area of my house. That sounds really elegant, but it's a small area with this washstand, lots of shoes and coats! lol

Boo pennant banner for Halloween

It's fun and easy to make little BOO pennant banners with the new Perfect Pennants Bigz die and Frightful Sight dsp. I cut the letters with the Alphabet Simple Letters die for the Big Shot. I used Basic Black, Lucky Limeade and Cajun Craze card stocks, and ruffled Lucky Limeade ribbon. I like setting up a little vignette just inside my front door. It gives my house a festive feel for holidays and makes it much easier to decorate since I focus on a couple areas rather than every room.

Here's a close-up of the first "O." I used the retired Stampin' Up! Bitty Bat punch and added the bat with dimensionals on top of the letter and rosette.

Baby pennant with rosettes

Here's one more thing to add to the list of stuff I'll have for sale at the Kitsap Arts & Crafts Festival this Friday thru Sunday. Kim came over this morning and we made five baby pennants using the Perfect Pennants die for the Big shot, 1-1/4" strips of retired designer paper for the rosettes, and some solid color card stock (Real Red, Pacific Point and Old Olive). The letters are from the Alphabet Simple Letters die.

We made an all pink banner, an all blue banner, then a few of these mixed colors. I also made a Welcome pennant banner for my booth!

Embossed Vintage Wallpaper with butterflies

This is a thank-you card for one of my customers. I like to stick notes of appreciation in their orders, because they do mean alot to me!

I went to my scrap box for everything but the button. The card body is Wisteria Wonder, with a couple pieces of a Vintage Wallpaper-embossed Whisper White and a few Pink Pirouette butterflies from an embosslit for the Big Shot. I used a scrap of Pink Pirouette for the Dotted Scallop Ribbon Border, then added the button with some white Baker's Twine.

I'd used the embossed butterflies and vintage panels on a card I posted July 8. You can see the original card here.

Party This Way favor box and On The Grow card...

We had alot of fun Saturday at our American Ink team meeting. There were six make & takes in all, though this post only includes two of them. Above, Michelle brought a Party Favor Box (die for the Big Shot). We added a strip of Love Letters dsp, a large circle scallop of Red Glimmer Paper, and a stamped sentiment from the Party This Way stamp set. We used a Crop-a-dile to make 3/16" holes on either side of the box and knotted the ends of the 1-1/4" Basic Black grosgrain ribbon. Michelle even gave us treats for the box! Yum.

Karen (aka Puddin') brought this beautiful On The Grow card. It uses the new Flower Garden embossing folder in the Summer Mini, as well as the Level 1 hostess set Swirls & Curls Verses. She used markers (Baja Breeze, Certainly Celery, Old Olive and Tempting Turquoise) and a blender pen to color the stamped images. The designer paper is from the Blueberry Crisp pack, and there are some rhinestones on there, as well.

Petal Cone carrot favor for Easter...

Our punches make layering like this so easy! They're a nice way to add dimension and color to a project.



The "carrot" shape is from the Petal Cone die for the Big Shot. I cut off one of the top rounded flaps, and adhered a scalloped one in Garden Green (also cut with the Petal Cone die) after stamping the entire Tangerine Tango carrot with the Sanded background stamp. I used Sticky Strip to hold the carrot together.

Faux Mother of Pearl Fun Flowers and New Postage Stamp Set & Punch

I've only taken photos of two swaps so far - Karen's above and mine below. Karen is in my downline. She used the Faux Mother of Pearl Technique on flowers from the Fun Flowers Die for her card. To do the technique, she started with Whisper White card stock and sponged on Shimmer Paint in Frost White. After that, she brayered on Classic Rose Red ink. The flowers look almost metallic!

My card is simple - the front was run through the Perfect Polka Dots embossing folder. I added a strip of Real Red patterned paper (from the Brights pad), with a Dotted Scallop Ribbon Border-punched piece of Old Olive behind it. The stamp is a new image from the Pretty Postage set in the upcoming Summer Mini Catalog. I used markers to ink the stamp, then punched it out with the Postage Stamp Punch, another Summer Mini item.

I'm hoping to have time today to take photos of the rest of our American Ink team swaps, so look for those later!