Sponged Butterfly!

Hello again! Yesterday I managed to find some stamp time and I was SO excited, haha! Since it's been so long since I pulled out my things, for the first project I used both a sketch and a color challenge, and kept it very simple. Easy way to get back to stamping!
So this pretty butterfly card uses the latest Freshly Made Sketch and the color combo from the Nacho Average Challenge blog!

Supplies:
Stamps: Swallowtail, Teeny Tiny Wishes
Ink: Mint Macaron, Blushing Bride, Melon Mambo, Memento Black
Paper: Whisper White, Mint Macaron, Blushing Bride
Accessories: Stamping Sponges, Hexagon Punch (pennant end)

I have done a circle-sponging for this particular butterfly, where I stamp it first, then sponge on color. This time I did the colors in stripes, and stamped the butterfly over the stripes. Have you tried smearing your sponging since the ink pads changed a couple years ago? It doesn't give the same smooth color blending that you can see in the Melon Mambo (bottom) stripe. Instead, it works better to just dab the sponge on the paper, so that's what I did for the other two colors.

Anyway, I think it turned out pretty. And I'm excited to keep stamping again!!

Blog Hop: Featuring the Big Shot!

...and all the things you can do with it!
Happy August to you, and welcome to another fun blog hop!
(also, if you're a regular reader of mine, today I have cards!!!)

This month, Stampin' Up! is offering a really awesome promotion with the Big Shot! If you don't own a Big Shot, this is the best time to buy one! Until August 31, you can buy a Big Shot and get a Framelits and Stamp Set bundle for FREE! Already own a Big Shot? No problem- you can get a 15% discount on the same selected bundles!! YEAY!
(check the list of bundles at the bottom of this post)
And that is why our August Blog Hop features the Big Shot- to show you the fun things you can do once you get one of these in your house too!

My first card uses the very fun On Film framelits. There are lots of cute framelits in that set but my favorite is this polaroid frame! I also used the Calypso Coral Blendabilities which! you should know that ALL Blendabilites are available for you to order today!

Supplies:
Stamps: Swallowtail
Ink: Memento Black Ink, Calypso Coral Blendabilities
Paper: Park Lane DP, Calypso Coral & Whisper White card stocks
Accessories: Big Shot, On Film Framelits, Linen Thread

The second card fits the NAC100 challenge- and I used the #53 sketch. In case it isn't obvious, my favorite way to use the Big Shot is to emboss chunks of paper. Here I used the Honeycomb embossing folder and then scuffed an ink pad across it! Such a quick, cool look! But I also used another die - the Banners Die, for the greeting tag!

Supplies:
Stamps: Summer Silhouettes, Lots of Thanks
Ink: Island Indigo, Cajun Craze, Old Olive, Crumb Cake
Paper: Island Indigo, Crumb Cake & Very Vanilla card stocks
Accessories: Big Shot, Honeycomb Embossing Folder, Banners Framelits Dies

Alright, now go check out the rest of the Blog Hop, see what you could do if you owned the Big Shot and figure out your August order! *grin!

Discounted Bundles during August: 
Sumthin' Sumthin' stamp set & Word Bubbles framelits
Oh My Goodies stamp set & Deco Labels Collection framelits
Day of Celebration stamp set & Chalk Talk framelits
Daydream Medallions & Floral Collection framelits
Bright & Beautiful** stamp set & Stars framelits
(**stamp set available in Holiday Mini- released August 28, let me know if you want one mailed to you!)

World Card Making Day 2

Here's my "summery" card, using a recent Retro Sketch. I mixed White and Iridescant Ice embossing powders to make a sparkly white butterfly!
Be sure to scroll thru and see what else I've shared today! *grin

Supplies:
Stamps: Swallowtail, Itty Bitty Banners
Ink: Coastal Cabana, Versamark
Paper: Crisp Cantaloupe & Coastal Cabana
Accessories: Neutral Buttons, Glue Dots, White Embossing Powder, Iridescant Ice Embossing Powder, Heat Tool

Butterfly Birthday

Happy Friday to you! Today's is a card I seriously love, so I'm glad I can leave it with you for the weekend! (I'll be a little busy...) I used a sketch from a couple weeks ago on the Clean & Simple blog. I love the neutral grays with the pop of pink, and the sparkle! What do you think?

Supplies:
Stamps: Swallowtail, Banner Greetings
Ink: Smoky Slate, Strawberry Slush
Paper: I Am Me DP, Strawberry Slush, Pool Party & Whisper White card stocks, Silver Glimmer Paper
Accessories: Brights Candy Dots, Scallop Edge Punch

Blog Hop: Summer Celebration!

Welcome to our July Blog Hop!

Anna has picked the theme of Summer Celebration and I can't think of anything more fun! I hope you're as excited as I am to see all the fun ideas everyone has, and that you'll hop all the way through with us! I got a box of new goodies just as I finally had a chance to work on these projects so you'll see a lot of new stuff shown off here today! *grin I didn't realize til I went to post that I use the same DP pack on all three projects, haha!

This particular summer itself is quite a celebration for my family, haha...my long time readers will know that most of my summers are usually spent away from home running a scout camp with my husband- but he had the opportunity to change jobs in the past year and we are spending this summer home, as a whole family! Whoohoo for that! We've got to do some fun things as a family, and we're only a month into our summer!

So first up is a random day Summer Celebration kind of scrapbook page! Seems like playing in the water is always a celebration, especially for kids, so here's a trip to a really fun splash pad!

Supplies:

Stamps: Swallowtail

Ink: Basic Gray

Paper: I Am Me DP, So Saffron card stock

July in my house includes a birthday, and every birthday must be Celebrated! Thanks Anna for encouraging me to get this card done in plenty of time! I wanted to use THIS Retro Sketch, and after I made it I had a better idea for it, so here are two very similar cards, haha...

Supplies:
Stamps: Make a Cake, Itty Bitty Banners
Ink: Pool Party, Gumball Green Bermuda Bay, Calypso Coral, Daffodil Delight
Paper: I Am Me DP, Calypso Coral & Whisper White card stocks
Accessories: Brights Candy Dots, Epic Day Washi Tape, White Bakers Twine

Independence Day is another fun Summer Celebration all across the country, so I had to include this layout as well, with pictures from two years ago. The other exciting thing about this page is the stamps I used are from the newest photopolymer stamp set!! Check it out HERE. I love that the postcard made for a perfect journaling spot!

Supplies:
Stamps: Wanderlust
Ink: Real Red
Paper: I Am Me DP, Pool Party, Real Red & Whisper White card stocks
Accessories: Brights Candy Dots

Now go see everyone else's ideas for a Summer Celebration and let us know what you think! *grin

Collage Curios & Mojo!

Both of today's cards use the current Mojo Monday sketch, which I have used already, haha, but I thought it would be great with this stamp set! This set is so fun because the tiny images coordinate with so many other stamp sets, as I show below!

This first one I added a "square" to the sketch, and managed to coordinate three butterflies! The Swallowtail image in blue is really nice! I like that its subtle, even tho that really means I needed to refill my ink pad, haha!

Supplies:
Stamps: Collage Curios, Swallowtail
Ink: Not Quite Navy
Paper: First Edition DP, Not Quite Navy & Very Vanilla card stocks
Accessories: Natural Ribbon, Scoring Blade

And this card is for a friend who has been to Paris!

Supplies:
Stamps: Collage Curios, Teeny Tiny Wishes
Ink: Bravo Burgundy, Basic Gray
Paper: First Edition DP, Bravo Burgundy, Very Vanilla card stocks
Accessories: Crochet Ribbon, Vintage Trinkets, 1 3/8 inch square punch

A sparkly birthday!

This is a busy card. Sometimes its just a challenge to make it all work, lol. I think my issue is the Regal Rose background, which 'coordinates' with the softer pink in the rainbow paper, rather than matches...or maybe its just too much pink. Not sure.. But this card is for my daughter. She looooved the Swallowtail when she saw it (here) and she has a bright, sparkly personality, so she needed the fabulous rainbow strip and the yellow chevron and the glitter paper! The butterfly is actually embossed with silver embossing powder because that's what I grabbed and poured on, instead of black, haha. I also filled in the banner outline (on the greeting) with the Lucky Limeade marker, trying to pick up the green in the rainbow. ...maybe that's the problem-too many colors?
Oh well, she'll be thrilled and THAT is, as always, the point!
This card mostly uses the Retro Sketch.

Supplies:
Stamps: Swallowtail, Itty Bitty Banners
Ink: Versamark, Basic Gray, Lucky Limeade Marker
Paper: Whisper White & Regal Rose card stock, Sunshine and Sprinkles DP, Silver Glitter DP
Accessories: Scallop Edge Punch, Corner Rounder Punch, Silver Embossing Powder, Heat Tool

Emboss it!

Last summer Stampin' Up! retired both of my go-to sets for heat embossing with the catalog change. With my most recent order, I have found a new stamp PERFECT for such a technique!! I was creating samples for my upcoming class and tried it in black and then in white and just wanted to keep going! I need more embossing colors and more pieces of card stock laying around already cut to card-front size!! And more time... haha..!

so here's my playing...

 Here's one completed card that is very simple....

 And here's what we'll make in the class!

Supplies:
Stamps: Swallowtail
Ink: Versamark, Daffodil Delight, More Mustard, Pumpkin Pie, Cajun Craze
Paper: Whisper White, Basic Black & Daffodil Delight card stocks
Accessories: Black Embossing Powder, Heat Tool, Regal Brads, Mat Pack, Stamping Sponges