Washi Butterfly

 I saw this VIDEO a couple months ago and I thought that was such pretty washi tape, now they have many more in stock at Paperwishes.com if you want to check them out.  I didn't do the butterfly exactly how she did it, but I still liked the effect.

Since there was so much pattern in the washi tape I decided to keep the background pretty plain, I used a stencil to ink just around the outside of the card with a deeper orange ink.

• Hot off the Press - Butterflies and Hearts die
• Penny Black - Background Basics Stencil
• Dried Marigold Distress ink
• Ieebee - Fluttering Blooms washi tape
• Recollections - Basic Paper
• Crafter's Square - Birthday sentiment stamp
• Added dots with fine tip brown sharpie pen
• Hearts cut from left over washi pieces

Thanks so much for taking the time to stop by today,

Connie

Faux Wood Technique

 We had another teams meeting with my stamp group and this time April taught us I believe she called it Carved wood Technique.

 You will want 3 brown inks from light to dark, sorry I forgot to write down the colors we used. We took a 4 x 5.25 inch paper and wiped the whole piece of paper with the lightest ink, you don't want to fill the whole paper just swipe down all the way across. Then we scored the top half of the card every 1/2 inch for four score lines. 

Then take an embossing folder that you would like for the bottom half of your card and  line it up with your last score line, you want this to be the debossed side of your folder. When done embossing you will swipe on your other 2 darker inks on top, once again just lightly wiping so not to fill the entire card just to leave streaks. We also added at the very end some Broken China distress inks very lightly. You will cut a 3/4 inch piece off this card for the two sections you see on the card.

For the base of the card we cut a 5.5 x 7.5 inch card and scored at 3 1/4 and 6 1/2 inches. Fold at the score lines and glue on your pieces to your card front.  Later when I was finishing the card I just added the leaf myself to keep it shut, but you don't have to have anything there.

• Taylored Expressions - Burlap embossing folder, w/distress inks
• Art Impressions - Lake House Window stamp, colored w/Aqua markers
• PPD - Stitched Square die
• Tim Holtz - Funky Foliage die

You glue the smallest scored piece directly to the card base and add the 3/4 inch strip to that, the take your main focal and glue it to that piece, it will bend back so you can secure the larger scored section.

 I hope with the instructions of how I remembered it and the pictures you will be able to figure it out if you want to give it a go :)

Thanks so much for stopping by today,

Connie

Quick cards

 Here are a couple cards that came together quickly when I wanted to get something out the same day.

Our Music director at church had knee surgery.  I am glad to report that was a few weeks ago and she is doing very well.

• Hunkydory - Garden Visitors Pocket Pad image
• Colorbok - Homespun Papers
• My Favorite Things - Cross stitch Rectangle
• Simon Says stamps - Tiny words encouragement sentiment stamp
• Pearls

This image was from my daily calendar, I had to send something to my daughter and made up this quick card to go with it.

Thanks so much for stopping by today, we have a very cloudy day today and tomorrow we are told we will get some more rain.

Connie

Masculine

 As many of you know that have followed me for awhile knows that the fall time is when I need the most Masculine cards, and since I have started to make them for the guys in our Life group at church I have a few more to make in the year now.

• Artistic Outpost - the Outpost stamp set (Leaf, clock and text piece)
• Hot off the press - Sarabook Ivory papers (paper and tag)
• Recollections - Brads
• Spectrum Noir - Clear sparkle pen ( on watch and leaf)

Thanks so much for taking the time to stop by today,

Connie

Elegant Blossom

 I have had this die for quite some time and I even made it up shortly after purchasing it and then I put it away in the package for further use, and I am finally bringing it out to play.  I colored some of it with markers and did a little inking on it. I added some rubons to the pattern paper, along with some of the new washi tape I saw on Amazon and just had to have it, just as you see that border that is how it comes, pretty cool huh!

• Simon Says Stamps - Elegant Blossom die cut, colored w/markers and inking
• 49 and Market - Coral Mini Collection 6x6 papers, Vintage Artistry Coral & Natural Rubons ( Crochet and spots)
• Amazon - Valley Green Butterfly washi tape
• Hero Arts - It's your day sentiment stamp
• Martha Stewart Pearls

I would like to share my card with the following challenges:

Never Before Used Schtuff flower dies

Triple B Challenge 

Word Art Wednesday

We got almost 4 inches of rain on Saturday, everything has greened up again, so thankful for the rain and that it came down steady all day instead of all at once, so we didn't have to worry about flooding :)

Thanks so much for taking the time to stop by today and hope you have a great week!

Connie

Bees

 Paper Rose studio does a beautiful job with their ephemera and papers in their card kits, so hard to pass up :)

• Paper Rose Studio - Bees & Butterflies Quick Card Collection
• Queen & Co. - Yellow Sunshine Pearls

So nice when everything is in the card kit, all you have to do is put it together and add a few pearls too :)

We are actually supposed to get rain after we have not had any in weeks, just praying for slow steady and not too heavy since it is supposed to be an all day ordeal.

Thanks so much for taking the time to stop by today, enjoy your weekend,

Connie

Flower Bouquet

 I have more advent calendars to open this December so I am really trying to use the things from last years before then, so I was able to go that plus I used some from other years too for the next birthday card I needed.

• Diamond Press - Advent Calendar 24, Frame die
• Crafter's Companion - Advent calendar 23 Stamp and die cut flowers by sentiment
• WeRmemory keepers - For the record papers
• Diamond Press - sentiment stamp
• Spellbinders - Labels trio die
• Fiskars - Border punch

Thanks so much for taking the time to stop by today,

Connie

Masculine Birthdays

 I have two cards to share today, my nephew and his son have their birthdays just a few days from each other and I finished these cards on the same day, using the same paper pack, so I thought I would share them here together.  My great nephews card I used all papers from the pack, just cut the numbers and background from different pieces of paper. You can probably tell my great nephew is turning 15.

• DCWV - Tattered Time paper
• Studio G - Alphabet stamps (I hand wrote in the 2) on ticket

For My nephews card I did go with some rub ons and sticker tags I found at the $store, along with some other goodies.

• DCWV - Tattered Time paper
• Crafter's Square - Tag sticker and Gold Fern Rub on (to the left of tag)
• Tim Holtz - Curator stamps (bottom left ephemera)
• 49 and Market - Curator Meadow Faux stamp
• Recollections - Brad

Thanks so much for taking the time to stop by today,

Connie

Autumn Tree

 I have not played with this set in a long time and it is perfect for a fall birthday, in past times I have stamped the leaves, fussy cut them and then popped them on the tree, this time I did all the stamping directly onto a piece of pattern paper.

• Papertrey Ink - Mighty Oak stamps
• Hero Arts - It's your day sentiment stamp

I would like to share my card with the following challenges:

Simply Clean and Simple Optional Pumpkins

Four Seasons Anything goes Fall

Neglected Stuff Challenge My tree stamp

Thanks so much for taking the time to stop by today,

Connie

Greenhouse

 My hubby surprised me one day back in August with these dies. Normally he walks during his lunch break but because it was so HOT back then he decided to check out the thrift store on base to see what they had, we haven't gone in there in a long time.  Well he saw this die set and thought I could use it on my cards.  Now at first I will have to say I wasn't too sure about it, like how I am going to use something dimensional on my cards, but the more I looked at it I thought maybe I could, this is the card I came up with and the actual 3D version will be at the end. I added a tree to go with the greenhouse, and a punched border of flowers inside but all the rest of the dies are from this set.

• Concord & 9th - C9 Summer camp greenhouse and greeting dies
• Enamel dots on the flowers inside the greenhouse
• Memory Box - Orchard tree frame die, colored w/markers
• Fiskars - Flower border punch (inside greenhouse)
• Vellum
• Martha Stewart pearls on banner

I used some foam tape to pop out the greenhouse to fit the plants and flowers inside.

Here is the greenhouse actually put together as it was intended.

Thanks so much for taking the time to stop by today, have a great weekend!

Connie

Bunched Bouquet

 I decided to go with some stamping that I haven't done in awhile for the next birthday card I needed, this was another hand delivered so I could add as much dimension. These are layered stamps.

• Tonic Studio - Bunched Bouquet stamps
• Spellbinders - Floral Doily Motifs dies
• Lilybee designs - Head over heels papers
• Stamps of Life - Miis4circles sentiment stamp set
• Gems

Thanks so much for taking the time to stop by today,

Connie

Open to whatever

 When I saw this pocket pad of images at the stamp store over in Missouri I had to pick it up because it had great images I could use for either girl or guy cards. This one reminded me of something Tim would have, it had great distress look to it.

• Hunkydory - Garden Visitors Pocket pad (moths)
• DCWV - The Natural paper
• Tim Holtz - Metallic Sticker Book  and Kraft core Metallic collection (for matting)

I liked the shine in the paper and matting to go with the image. 

Thanks for stopping by today,

Connie

So Sorry

 Two ladies in my cardmaking group lost family members, I had recently printed off these images from Graphics Fairy, so I thought they would work nicely for sympathy cards.

• Graphics Fairy - Digital image
• Basic Grey - Porcelain papers
• Stampendous - Sincere Sentiments stamp

On this next image the sign is empty so I stamped a sentiment in side.

• Graphics Fairy - Digital image
• Taylored Expressions - Care & Comfort sentiment stamp
• The Greetery - Crimped Frame die

Thanks so much for taking the time to stop by today,

Connie

Magnolia Wall hanging

 I just love these flowers and I had to make something for me to enjoy with them.  I don't have a tree of my own but there are a few not to far that I drive past all the time in the spring so I can enjoy them that way. I decided to make something I could hang and as I was putting away all my summer decorations to get ready for fall I wondered if I had ever posted it, and when I found a piece of paper with all the info I realized I never did share it so here we are in Autumn enjoying some spring goodies :)

It hangs from a shelf my hubby made me, I don't recall where I found the hanger but it works great for those things I want to display, that doesn't have one of their own. I used my branch die to add the little buds too or they would just be floating in air.

• Memory Box - Magonalia Blooming Bud, Magnolia Bud Trio and Woodland Branch die
• Spellbinders - Grand Labels One dies (Base Layers)
• DCWV - The Primrose paper
• Martha Stewart - Butterfly Punch
• Paper Studio - Gems

A side view to see the bit of dimension to it.

Thanks so much for taking the time to stop by today,

Connie