butterflies | If The Glue Sticks…Embellish

Clean and Simple Stamping #257

Posted on September 9, 2013 by debbrooner

This card has a larger curved edge than the sketch but I liked the results anyway. I am going to try something new this time and give you a tutorial, complete with pictures, to show how I made this card with my Silhouette. Some of the pics aren’t the best but this is my first time for this so extend some grace my direction, okay?

Step 1: Draw a rectangle that is 5.5″ wide by 8.5 ” high. This will give you a standard 5.5″ x 4.25″ card. I colored this rectangle gray so it would be easier to tell what is what later on.

Step 2: bring in the desired doily and resize it so that it is slightly larger than the card. I made mine 5.55 x 5.55 inches. Place it on top of the card base, lining up the bottom of the doily with the bottom of the card. I have colored the doily so you can see it easier.

Step 3: I made another rectangle by starting it on the upper left-hand of the card base and dragged it halfway down the doily, then sending it backward one step so that it is between the doily and the card base.. This rectangle and the doily will be the 2 pieces that will be welded together. This new rectangle is peach colored.

Step 4: I no longer needed the card base so I removed it.

Step 5: I highlighted both the peach rectangle and the doily and hit the “weld” button and tada- a card with a fancy border!

I used the My Mind’s Eye “Memorable” 6×6 pad, Pumice Stone Distress ink, and the Hero Arts /Sizzix Stamp and Die Cut Butterflies set. The doily is #18185. I added some Distress Stickles and yellow embroidery thread to dress it up a bit more.

Thanks for giving this a peek!

Summer Card Camp 2 Sketch and Color Challenges

Posted on July 31, 2013 by debbrooner

I always enjoy Jennifer McGuire and Kristina Werner’s online classes and their Summer Card Camp 2 did not disappoint. This card used one of their sketch and color combos from week 3.

I had just picked up the Sizzix Stamp and Die Set really cheaply at Michaels so this seemed to be a good time to try the set out. I stamped and die cut the butterflies out of white cardstock and colored them by tapping my Distress Ink pads on my craft mat and picking up the color with a water brush. I used the white cardstock purposely so that the colors of the ink would be true but I didn’t want the outer edges to be so white so I used the Frayed Burlap Distress Ink to color the edges. Much better!

The sketch used twine to wrap around the center of the card but since I happened to have purple thread on a bobbin I decided to sew the lines on instead. My machine was not exactly behaving itself so the stitching is a little wonky but that’s the way it goes sometimes. I still like the result.

I cut out a banner and swiped it through the puddles of Distress Inks to color it, dried it with my heat gun and then stamped the sentiment.

Both the butterfly and the sentiment were mounted on dimensional adhesives and then added some bling with rhinestones.

As I said, my machine wasn’t exactly cooperating with me for the stitching so I ended up making two panels and then trimming them to get the best results. I had this small piece of embroidered panel left and another butterfly from the same Sizzix set so I decided to make another card.

It was a “look into my drawer of stuff I haven’t used yet” kind of day so I pulled out my new Heidi Swapp hexagon stencil and used Broken China and Seedless Preserves to add color. I like the contrast between the hazy background and the not-so-hazy butterfly panel.

Butterflies: Sizzix Stamp and Die Set; Distress Inks: Milled Lavender, Seedless Preserves, Broken China, Frayed Burlap: Sentiment: Hero Arts CL351; Heidi Swapp Stencil;

Kraft Cardstock Mania 2

Posted on March 8, 2013 by debbrooner

Welcome to the second installment of my Kraft cardstock series.

This pink one could almost be called a one-layer card. I really like the stamped layered effect which gives some depth and interest. I used all of my ink choices on this card: distress, pigment and archival. That way all of my ink pads would not be jealous…The pearly finish of the pink cardstock contrasts nicely with the matte Kraft cardstock.

Text: Tim Holtz French Market; background stamp: Tim Holtz Multimedia; Butterfly: Inkadinkadoo Mindscapes.

For the big butterfly on this card I used my Silhouette and cut a butterfly pattern 3 times, with each cut slightly smaller than the last. I stamped the largest and smallest ones with Tim Holtz’ Papillon stamp then glued them all together on the bodies only. I used the same stamp set for the 3 small butterflies on the bottom.

The Kraft background was embossed with a new folder I just got called “Cindi Loo”. Now I ask you, what could be more fun than using a great folder with a really fun name?

Butterfly Cutout: #12423; Cuttlebug folder

Five more cards to go! See you next week, and may all your butterflies be on your cards not your stomach.

Stamping Queens Cards and ATC’s

Posted on August 10, 2012 by debbrooner

I just joined a new Yahoo group called Stamping_Queens. There appear to be lots of different swaps going each month so I am hoping to get a little of everything- cards, ATC’s, inchies, and sketchs.

The card above was made with the Spit Coast Stampers sketch 164. The paper is from Basic Grey’s Out Of Print collection. Love those papers! The little retro background is from Silhouette.

retro background:#23521; Cuttlebug Embossing folder:Swiss Dot: Sentiment: Stampendous “Friendship Assortment”

The theme for the ATC’s this month was pink and black- not hard for me to do since any color plus black is right up my alley.

I don’t usually like old timey silhouettes, but this little girl holding a butterfly called my name. I stamped the definition on the ATC, added Worn Lipstick Distress Ink to the edges, and then cut out a tiny butterfly that I folded in half and glued to her hand. A thin strip of polka dot paper finished the ATC off.

I cut the butterfly out and then ungrouped the design, got rid of the inside pieces, and cut the outline out so that it would be a solid shape. I glued the 2 pieces together on the body only, cut the butterfly in half, glued the butterfly to the card, and then bent the top layer of wings up. I didn’t forget the antenna which was emboidery floss stiffened with glue. Fun.

assorted butterflies filligree set: #26282; girl with butterfly border: #29236; lace butterfly: #27233

This last card I made is a Silhouette product. I don’t usually buy the cards that I could design myself, but for some reason I did this time. I was pretty pleased with the results and will definitely use this card again as it is very quick to make but doesn’t look like it is.

I stamped the 2 side panels and used dimensional adhesive on all three panels so the holes in the middle panel are more obvious.I did add an extra piece so I had a place for my sentiment.

A2 size cared: # 28261; sentiment: Stampendous “Friendship Assortment”; Background stamp: Great Impressions “Scroll and Leaves”

Less Is More Challenge- 3 stamps

Posted on May 17, 2012 by debbrooner

Okay, this was waaay more challenging than I expected. The Less Is More challenge this week was to use 3 stamps. Using only 3 stamps was difficult as a little voice inside of me kept saying “can’t I use just one more?”, though to tell the truth no matter how many stamps were allowed I probably would have wished I could use just one more!

It has been a while since I have used pigment inks. I smudged several cards before I remembered that pigment inks dry slowly, and then I ruined the next card by sliding my sentiment stamp out of place. Only after making several cards (actually card fronts) did it occur to me to try erasing the ink smudge. It worked!

Hero Arts Background of Six Scribbles; Heidi Grace 4×8 Butterfly; Ditto Hello Friend

It has also been a while since I have done masking, and I forgot how much I enjoyed it. I used my new Tim Holtz Peacock Feather Distress Ink for the background. Pretty color, huh?

Great Impressions Scroll and Leaves”; Heidi Grace 4×8 Butterfly;TPC Studios Music

New card bases from Silhouette

Posted on April 28, 2012 by debbrooner

I just purchased the new card bases and envies from the Silhouette Store. I thought I’d show you what you can do with them. Since I don’t have the Cameo I couldn’t cut out the envelopes, but since the cards are a standard 4.25 x 5.5 inches I can just use rather boring but servicable white ones. This first picture shows what the card bases look like when open.The only difference in all of the cards is the shape of the card front. Now for the finished cards which, by the way, refused to stay in an upright position when placed in the frog, hence the thumb showing in each one. Sorry about that.

Card base 1 has these fun scalloped edges. I cut the overlay out of white cardstock and then used the internal offset to cut a slightly smaller overlay out of patterned paper. The bird file is one of my favorites and the ability to cut out the ” beautiful you” so cleanly still amazes me. Due to the size I did end up double cutting the phrase. I found some yellow butterflies in my “yellow” box, so I put 2 of them together and added them as well. I felt the yellow cardstock needed some help so I ran it through my Cuttlebug Polka Dots embossing folder. Doesn’t the background now look like a giant yellow Lego? Oops.

card_base_1_C01686_20509; bird_on_branch_C00648_19547; beautiful_you_phrase_C00987_20509;

I love the colors on this card. They are all from then Tropical AC Cardstock pack. Originally I had intended on using rhinestones to cover some of the black polka dots but I didn’t have the right colors so I just punched out several of each color of cardstock, added them to the card, and then covered each of them with Glossy Accents. Easy cheap coordinating embellishments.

card_base_2_C01688_20509; paisley_C00413_31857; background stamp Stampabilities Polka Dot Background; sentiment Fiskars All Year Greetings

This next card is pretty busy for me, but I did get to used up several bits and pieces I had laying around. I cut the fancy border in two parts and used them to border the top and bottom of the card front. I used the Cuttlebug Forest Branched folder on the red cardstock and then turned the pattern sideways and cut a strip. I ran the black butterfly through my Xyron, front side down, and then pulled the backing off of just the butterfly wings and added glitter. I learned a very important lesson about black cardstock and colored glitter. Yellow glitter appears green and orange apppears brown. Tricky stuff, that glitter. I then removed the backing from the body and added black glitter. I got the idea for the butterfly from yesterday’s A Cut Above online class.

I made the flower on the tiny label by cutting 3- 12 petal flowers, covering them withDistress Ink, and then curling the petals and layering on top of each other. The flower almost looks like a small dried one.

card_base_3_C01690_20509; elegant_border_C00105; assorted_butterfly_filigree_C01438_20387; 12_petal_flowers_C00667; 5_petal_flowers_C01237_20509; leaves_C00027_23445; 5_labels_C01207

You know how often farm dogs are “outside dogs”? Well this bird is an “outside bird”. He hangs around the cage but never in it . Just thought you’d want to know.

This is a pretty simple card, actually. I really like the birdcage and sentiment. The set comes with 2 more birdcages, several birds and one more sentiment that is bird related.

card_base_4_C01629_20509; 3_bands_C00965_20509; TAC Studio Vintage Birdcages

This last card is probably my favorite. I really like the teacup and the frilly edges of the card front go well with it.

The dotted background is from a blogsite called Mel Stamps. If you haven’t been to her site then you are in for some fun! She has lots of free templates and background papers as well as cards she has made. Prepare to spend some time there, though.

This is one of those cards that ended up being a “flub fixed” one. I ran all of my letters throught my Xyron but found out that I had run one of the T’s and O’s in backwards. I really didn’t want to have to recut just 2 letters, so I used the misglued letters for the word “two” and addeds glue to the front of the W. I then added clear embossing powder to the word and heated it. Now it looks like I intended that word to be glossy. Take that, goof up monster.

card_base_5_C01694_20509; 4_flourished_tea_cup_set_C00656_19210: background stamp Hero Arts Word Pops

Six more cards to go. See you next week!

Faux Poste Card

Posted on March 23, 2012 by debbrooner

This is a quicky since I really need to get going on my Easter cards. The card design is from Becky Fleck’s Card Maps. I liked the postage placed on little tiny artisan pages. I embossed the card itself with the Cuttlebug Polka Dots folder and used the “Viola” paper collecxtion by Memory Box.

I used the Silhouette for the artisan pages, the stamps, the butterfly and the flourish then stamped the cancellations and the sentiment .

filigree_butterfly_set_C01045; flourish_C02802_; 3_artisan_pages_C00135_24282;postage_stamps_C00046_41853;

“Thinking” by Fiskars’ “Just Between Friends”; “Luxe Cancellation” Hero Arts

Stay tuned for two and three-inch Easter cards!

More Cards Using My Silhouette Part 2

Posted on July 1, 2011 by debbrooner

I love double-sided cardstock (especially K&Co) . I used green cardstock to make the card and leaf and then used both sides of the decorative card for the inside and front as well as the flower.

double_pinking_scallop_card_C00707_19547, leaves_set_C00257_21585, Tim Holtz Tattered Florals Die

My favorite new toy at the moment is the McGill flower shaping set which I used for the flowers above. Each stylus in the set has two different sizes of tips so you always have the right size for your project. Shaping flowers is easy: you just lay your flower on a mouse pad and press with the stylus, making small circles until the paper cups up . I believe there are videos on You Tube that show the process.

Flowers aren’t the only embellishments on which you can use the shapers. I used a stylus to give some depth to the flourish on this berry colored card. I glued decorative paper to the front and inside of the card and stamped the sentiment (Hero Arts) on an artisan tag. For the large label I used the artisan shape with chrysanthemum and deleted everything but the outside edge and then embossed it with the “textile” CB folder.

card_scallop_rays_C00466_19547; echo_park_flourish_C00149_48353; artisan_shape_with_chrysanthemum_C01083_19210; artisan_label_set_C00106_41853

And finally, a super easy,quick, and cheery card.

butterfly_cutout_card_C00673_21585

More cards using my Silhouette

Posted on June 17, 2011 by debbrooner

I had a great time this week playing with cards and embellishments using my Silhouette.

I had not been all that excited about the Print and Cut images until I saw this adorable mouse. He just screamed “baby card”! I cut a border in half for the lace and printed a sentiment. I stamped the background (Judikins) with Versamark ink and embossed the gray piece with my Swiss Dots cuttlebug folder. That folder gets used more than any other I have.

mouse_C00230_31857; 3_borders_C00363_20509

I had cut out and colored the floral silhouette for this card and attached it to the debossed side of a white piece of cardstock run through the “Victoria” CB folder, but then I got stuck. I played with it for a while but finally got frustrated and went on to other things. Several weeks later I was rereading Judy Kauffman’s book Creative Cards, Postcards, Envelopes and More and turned to the page she called “clothesline layout” , and there was my answer! Instead of trying to find a place inside my design to place my sentiment (Stampendous) I could “hang” it from the top. Yay! Judy’s book is a great reference to have. She has a chapter on foolproof compositions, easy techniques, using different types of materials, collaging… the list goes on and on.

framed_flower_silhouette_C00808_23067

This card is pretty plain but I like it that way. The card image comes with the card itself and the overlay (which I did in peach). The fun part about this card is the bits left over after cutting. I now have 16 purple and orange crosses just begging to be wrapped with fiber and used on another card. This is an easy card.

mosaic_grid_cutout_card_C00670_21585

More cards coming next week.

Desert Beauty

Posted on June 24, 2010 by debbrooner

This will be a short post since I was in Tucson for several days attending a Handbell Festival and have been trying to catch up on things since then.

The first thing that struck me when I arrived in Tucson was the heat, of course, but then as I was driving to the hotel I kept seeing these vivid red-orange flowers that were a real contrast to the brown/olive background around them.

When I got to the hotel these flowers were growing right outside my balcony, so I got an opportunity to get a closer look. I was blown away by how much they looked like orchids- very lacy and delicate. They were truly stunning.

I have no idea what they are called but I am hoping someone out there will comment and let me know! I would hate to keep calling them “red-orange flowers” when I am sure they have a much lovelier name.

As I was out looking for a letterbox the next morning my first reaction to the scenery was that it was lacking in color so therefore not very interesting. But as I continued to walk I saw that while there wasn’t a whole lot of color there was a lot of texture. The variety of textures in the cacti alone was mind-boggling!

This card, a sketch from this week’s Clean And Simple Stamping Blog reminds me of my trip. I used a great handmade silk paper for the flower (one of the Tim Holtz Tattered Flowers with some alteration), and my butterfly antenna technique (adding small dots of paper to the ends of the stiffened embroidery floss) as well. My Tim Holtz embossing folder used with a sand colored cardstock seemed to make a fitting background and I used a sewing machine stitch that looked quite prickly. Even the red mottled cardstock I chose for the card itself added some texture.

I hope you enjoyed this tribute to Tucson, AZ!

My First Post Gives Me BUTTERFLIES (Antennae)

Posted on May 19, 2010 by debbrooner

Yahoo! This is my first step into the blogging world!

After receiving my Sizzix Embosslit butterfly from Stampin’ UP, I cut out butterflies from several printed and plain papers and cardstocks but they just didn’t work for me. Somehow something was missing. Finally I realized what it was: butterflies with no bodies or antennae were too weird, too naked, kinda like buttons without any thread in their holes.

I toyed with making wire antennae and maybe beaded bodies, but frankly it seemed to be more work than I wanted to do at the moment! I also knew that having 3 seperate parts meant 3 places for something to come lose or fall off. I needed an all-in-one solution.

I happened to have some embroidery floss in my line of sight and poof!, an idea was born.

For the largest butterfly I used 3 strands of embroidery floss (the standard 6-strand stuff comes in a milion different colors). I wrapped it around the middle of the butterfly (between the wings) and then double knotted it. I then slid the knot up to the top of the butterfly, making the head. DON’T cut the threads yet, they will become the antennae! Squeeze some glue (Elmers, Sobo, whatever) onto a piece of scrap paper. Dab your index finger in the glue, then rub the glue between your index finger and your thumb. This will take very little glue. Now take the thread ends you left and, starting at the “head” of the butterfly, rub the glue up the threads. This stiffens the thread so that you end up with lovely antennae! Once they are dry, trim to the length you desire. For the smaller butterflies use fewer strands of floss.

To apply to your project, just run a line of glue along the floss on the underside of the butterfly and not only will it stick, but the floss provides a tiny bit of dimension as well.

This procedure works well for stacking multiple pieces together . This is a really great technique when using vellum as there is no glue used so no worry about glue showing.

Both of the cards used Clean And Simple Stamping sketches

Hope you enjoyed this- let me know!