First Mother's Day card of the season

Even though Mother's Day is not until May, I figured why not get started on a few Mother's Day cards and get the ball rolling!

Card Recipe:

Paper: Cajun Craze CS; Marina Mist CS; Peach Parfait CS; Whisper White CS; Paisley Petals DSP

Stamps: Something to Celebrate, Just Believe

Ink: Marina Mist; Chocolate Chip

Tools: Butterfly punch

Accessories: Basic Rhinestones; Marina Mist Satin Ribbon; Chantilly Lace ribbon

I wanted to make a card that was pretty, yet simple and cheerful. I have been trying to find creative ways to use SU's butterfly punch, so I thought I would use it to add embellishments to my card. I punch three butterflies - 2 from Peach Parfait CS and 1 from Marina Mist CS. So they wouldn't look so plain, I stamped each butterfly with the flower image from the Just Believe stamp set. Lastly, I used SU's rhinestones to create the butterfly bodies. I love how the rhinestones sparkle!

Also, I tried something new with my ribbon....I'm a little disappointed that I didn't think of it earlier. I just layered the Chantilly Lace ribbon over the Marina Mist satin ribbon. A simple technique that I think addes a little bit of variety to the card. This card may look a little complicated, but it actually isn't! Which is great so I can easily reproduce this card and change the sentiment to make suitable for any occassion!

Hope you like it! Happy Stampin!

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Birdhouse Project

One of the great advantages of being a Stampin Up! demonstrator is having access to a wealth of inspirational resources that always get me motivated and excited to create. One of the fun things I came accross was this mini birdhouse pattern. It is super easy to create! I printed out the template on a sheet of bermuda bay cardstock (retired) and rose red cardstock, cut out the pieces, and assembled it with some SNAIL and TOMO Multi-purpose adhesive.

I used the flower punch from my Itty Bitty Punch set and my crop-o-dile to create the little flowers decorated the entrance hole. Additional supplies used included Thoroughly Modern DSP (retired), 1 1/4" circle punch, and square punch (to create dove tail on banner).

To create the stands for the birdhouses, I took two regular wood pencils and wrapped them with some  more Thoroughly Modern DSP. I punched a hole in the buttom of the birdhouses and inserted the pencils.

It took a little manipulating to get the birdhouses to set nicely, but i got it to work =) Then I took an empty yogurt container that I cleaned out...that's right...an empty yogurt container (i knew saving these empty containers would come in handy at some point) and wrapped it with some more DSP. Wrapping the container was a little bit harder than i thought it would be, but, again, i made it work somehow. The wrapping didn't look as "clean" as I would have liked, but it was presentable. To hide some of the seams and unwrapped parts of the container, I just used some melon mambo polka got grossgrain ribbon and chantilly lace ribbon.

I also needed a filler for the container so I could the birdhouses in there. A friend of mind has this wonderful of idea of just getting a bag of the rocks used for fish tanks since there are pretty inexpensive - so i did that..spent maybe 3 bucks! Then topped it off with some rocks the hubby and I collected when we took a trip to Cape Cod and Martha's Vineyard back in June.

Gotta Love Lace - PPA 112

Updated Post - It just so happened that I created a card using lace a few days before Pals Paper Arts posted their most recent challenge (PPA112) online. =) This is my first time participating in a PPA challenge so I am SUPER excited!

Stampin Up's Chantilly Crochet Trim (#118480) is a great way to add the little extra "something" to your card, scrapbook pages and other projects. Here are two cards I created using the Chantilly Crochet Trim.

Stamps: En Francais background stamp; Medallion background stamp

Paper: Soft Suede CS, Confetti White CS; River Rock CS

Ink: Cherry Cobbler; Regal Rose

Accessories: 1/2" Chantilly Crochet Trim; Rhinestones; Scallop Punch; Beautiful Wings Embosslit Die; Big Shot; Vintage Flower Brad (non-Stampin up); Dazzling Details

I love Stampin Up's new Dazzling Details! After using the Big Shot to cut out the butterflies with the Beautiful Butterflies Embosslit Die, I used the Dazzing Details to fill in the center of the butterflies.

Here is a close-up of the crochet trim. I applied SNAIL adhesive to the card and just scrunched and twisted the ribbon to make the "messy ruffles." I also used a glue dot here and there to help things stay in place.

Here is a photo of the second card I created - also using the Chantilly Crochet Trim as an accent

Stamps: Razzle Dazzle (retired); En Francais Background Stamp

Paper: Real Rust CS (retired); Not Quite Navy CS; Confetti White CS; Blueberry Crisp DSP (retired)

Ink: Not Quite Navy; Crumb Cake

Accessories: 1/2" Chantilly Crochet Trim;  vintage flower brad (non-SU); sponges