Floral Gift Bag Beauty

I found a picture of the gift bag that I gave my mom on Mother's day.  Pink is one of her favorite colors and so I thought to try my hand at decorating a plain white gift bag.  Here's the details:

• The floral swirls were die cut from multiple Spellbinders and Sizzix dies out of green cardstock.  I overlayed them to create the image you see.
• The butterfly has a layer of white embossed and then die cut image and a patterned paper image just die cut using my Heartfelt Creations Butterfly Medley stamp and die.

• The flowers were die cut from white cardstock using my Heartfelt Creations Arianna Blooms die.  I used Worn Lipstick Distress Ink to watercolor the flower petals and used Scattered Straw Distress Ink to color the centers of the flowers.  When the paper was still wet from the watercoloring, I spritzed them a bit more and accordion folded each petal.  After the accordion fold, I pinched the petal to get a good crease and then stretched them out a bit before leaving them to dry.  You can see a video here (about 8:45 into the video) on this technique.
• The centers of the flowers were completed with some I'm Amaized prills.  They provide such depth to the finished flowers.

A few pieces of pink tissue and a card and this present was fit for a mom on Mother's Day.  Look for interesting ways to use your papercrafting in your gift giving to send an "I love you" message too!

Sympathy Card- They Keep Coming

I went back to my technique of die cutting smaller die cuts learned in my Stretch Your Dies online class.  I think the soft pink sets the right tone in this card made for a co-worker.  You can see the outline image a little better too.   I die cut Heartfelt Creations Butterfly Medley die using patterned paper.  I arranged the butterflies and some small white embossed flowers (made out of vellum) on my work surface to fill the flower shape I could cut.  I place transfer tape (sticky side covering the die cuts) over the die cuts and then cut my larger die.  The original shape of the larger die is a large flower- wavy in a symmetrical way.  After gluing down the image, I added some coral prills to the center of the flowers.  I stamped the sentiment in brown Archival Ink.

Finishing Another Set of Gratitude Cards

I decided to shake up the design a little bit for these subsequent cards.  The patterned paper in the background is actually a scrap from the heap.  Here's the details on this card:

• The frame was stamped on vellum and embossed with white embossing powder and then cut using the matching die.  I colored the die cut on the backside with Worn Lipstick, Peeled Paint and Vintage Floret Distress Markers.  
• The flowers were stamped with the Birds and Blooms stamp on vellum and embossed with white embossing powder.  They were then die cut with the matching die and colored with Worn Lipstick.  The centers are filled with Tu Tu Pink prills.
• The butterfly was also stamped with my Butterfly Medley stamp and embossed with white embossing powder onto vellum which was then die cut with the matching die.  I colored with Scattered Straw, Worn Lipstick, Picked Raspberry Distress Ink.  
• All elements on the front are laced with glitter to give it a fine shimmer.
• The sentiment was printed on the computer, die cut into a circle and edged with Vintage Photo Distress ink.  The image was layered onto the patterned paper and everything glued down.  

On the inside I used my stitched rectangle dies to cut out another verse printed on the computer.  I left the die cut in the die long enough to apply some Peeled Paint Distress Ink to the inside of the frame for this effect.  It is applied with a few foam squares to give it a lift.

More of the same.  The glitter effect of the cards is lost in my pictures.  You can kinda see it, but not really.  I'm really pleased with how these turned out...

Another Heartfelt Gratitude Card

I picked up Heartfelt Creations Decorative Leafy Frame die and matching Vintage Floret Frame stamp at the CK Scrapbook Convention in March.  It worked as a great base for some of the Thank you cards I needed to make.  Here's the details on this card:

• The frame was stamped on vellum and embossed with white embossing powder and then cut using the matching die.  I colored the die cut on the backside with Worn Lipstick, Peeled Paint and Vintage Floret Distress Markers.  
• The flowers were stamped with the Birds and Blooms stamp on vellum and embossed with white embossing powder.  They were then die cut with the matching die and colored with Worn Lipstick.  The centers are filled with Tu Tu Pink prills.
• The butterfly was also stamped with my Butterfly Medley stamp and embossed with white embossing powder onto vellum which was then die cut with the matching die.  I colored with Scattered Straw, Worn Lipstick, Picked Raspberry Distress Ink.  
• The sentiment was printed on the computer, die cut into a circle and edged with Vintage Photo Distress ink.  The image was layered onto the patterned paper and everything glued down.  

So adorable that I made a few of these cards as well.  I'll try to get the photos edited and posted soon. 

Butterfly Card Set

I did say that I'd get these photos edited and post them for you.  This is the series of cards I made as Thank yous for folks who poured out their love during our time of grief.

Whoops- got a little color on the corner there!

If you missed the previous post, here's the details on the cards:

• The image stamped on the base card was made in Vintage Sepia Versafine ink using my Heartfelt Creations Birds and Blooms stamp.  I used a water brush and a Peeled Paint and Worn Lipstick Distress Markers to color the leaves and the flowers.  A little Vintage Photo Distress ink was applied to the branches.  Glitter was added to the image and Tu Tu Pink prills added to the flower centers.  
• The butterflies were cut from patterned paper using my Heartfelt Creations Butterfly Medley die.  The same Tu Tu Pink prills were added to the butterfly bodies with a little glitter for effect as well.
• The doily came in a $1 pack from Michael's value bin. It is pink felt and so works here.  
• The sentiment was printed onto cream cardstock and then cut out into a flag which is edged with Peeled Paint Distress Ink.  

Fluttering By with a Heartfelt Sympathy

I had many occasions last month to be grateful with a sad heart.  I made a series of thank you cards and this is one of them.  We have been both brokenhearted and crushed in spirit, but the love and care people have shown has strengthened and encouraged us.    Here's the details on the card:

• The image stamped on the base card was made in Vintage Sepia Versafine ink using my Heartfelt Creations Birds and Blooms stamp.  I used a water brush and a Peeled Paint and Worn Lipstick Distress Markers to color the leaves and the flowers.  A little Vintage Photo Distress ink was applied to the branches.  Glitter was added to the image and Tu Tu Pink prills added to the flower centers.  
• The butterflies were cut from patterned paper using my Heartfelt Creations Butterfly Medley die.  The same Tu Tu Pink prills were added to the butterfly bodies with a little glitter for effect as well.
• The doily came in a $1 pack from Michael's value bin. It is pink felt and so works here.  
• The sentiment was printed onto cream cardstock and then cut out into a flag which is edged with Peeled Paint Distress Ink.  

I didn't want to need these cards, but I think they communicated our appreciation and loss to those who helped during our time of grief.  I made a couple more versions, but need to get the photos loaded and edited.  I try to share this later in the week.

Day 2 Stretch Your Dies - Using Larger Die with Dies Cuts

This day we learned how to think about our larger frame dies in a different way.  One technique was to use a larger die to cut multiple smaller die cuts into a shape for the front of a card.  For my card, I die cut Heartfelt Creations Butterfly Medley die using patterned paper.  I arranged the butterflies and some small white embossed flowers (made out of vellum) on my work surface to fill the flower shape I could cut.  I place transfer tape (sticky side covering the die cuts) over the die cuts and then cut my larger wavy circle.  It is hard to see the original shape of the larger die, but is was almost a very large flower- wavy in a symmetrical way.

I cut the sentiment using a Penny Black Words of Gratitude die out of patterned paper and covered with Crystal Accents to create my own epoxy sticker.  I really like how this turned out and may use this technique again and again.

I'm going to enter this card in the following challenges:

Challenge #175: Anything Goes

Simon Says Spring Pinterest Inspiration Challenge - I used the colors in one of the photos (soft pinks and greens) to inspire this card.

Inspiration Emporium's Spring Blooms Challenge

Come on over and join the fun.