More spring butterflies and cute mice!

Border Dies were the topic in day 6 of OnlineCardClasses.com.  As I'm a new paper crafting "addict", I have yet to purchase border dies.  I did, however, find one in a Spellbinder set called Damask Accents.  Following inspiration by Debby Hughes, I was able to create a beautiful background using this border die!

Granted it is not the exact same inlaid background technique she had used, but I wanted to work with what supplies I have. Plus I just received an order from Simon Says Stamp and my Misti is still on the way...can't scare my husband too much with all the boxes coming in lol!

 

Saved the small inner pieces of this border die to use as confetti. They looked like little flower petals to me! :)

Alphabet Dies were the topic of day 7.  I finally invested in a great font alphabet set by Lawn Fawn in polymer for stamping, so I honestly hadn't even thought of alphabet dies.  Kathy Racoosin inspired me with her beautiful technique of what she calls "hidden letters." Here is where my first script word die came into play!

It was gorgeous outside today, so at 10am I stamped this adorable House Mouse image and sat outside to watercolor it.  Basking in the sun helped dry the piece quickly as well!  Die cutting this word without loosing the small inner pieces was the challenge, but managed to pull this off. I still have a big smile on my face. This was a lot of work, but I adore the final product!

Supplies used: 

• Spellbinders die set Damask Accents
• House Mouse stamp "In the rain"
• Core'dinations card stock (Joann's)
• Recollections card stock (Michaels) 
• Spellbinders die set Butterfly Two
• Embellishments
• Glossy Accents
• Foam tape by Orientaltrading.com
• Simply Art 36 Watercolors
• Jet Black Staz On waterproof ink
• Lawn Fawn Alphabet stamp set Harold's ABC's
• Paper Smooches Thanks word 2 die
• Distress Ink (Spun Sugar and Lilac)

The Cat's Meow and a Butterfly!

Day 4 is working with Mini Dies. I chose to try this technique by  Jennifer Rzasa to use mini dies as a background.  Only problem....I only have ONE mini die.  (and, of course, it's a kitty)  Needless to say this card took me a while to create, but I do love the final product!  Plus I got to play with my watercolor paper and distress inks again. The colors used are Mustard Seed, Bundled Sage and Salty Ocean to try and give a colorful ombre-like effect.

The sentiment used says "You're The Cat's Meow!"

Day 5 was about coordinating dies...unfortunately, I don't own any die/stamp sets. (Yet anyway lol!)   Shari Carroll used a die to create a beautiful window on the front of her card.  I wanted to mimic this technique using what I had and chose Butterfly Two dies by Spellbinders.  They have a pattern inside the die cut that can be embossed. I used this as a stencil instead to put Peacock Feathers Distress Ink in the center of the butterfly.  The pop up window is colored with Lilac ink and placed over the stenciled image using foam tape.

 

Supplies used for these projects:

•  Spellbinders dies Butterfly Two
• Core'dinations card stock
• Embellishments
• Lawn Fawn "On The Mend" stamp set for sentiment
• Washi Tape
• Foam tape from Orientaltrading.com
• Staz On Jet Black Ink
• Punnylicious Stamp Set by MyPinkStamper.com
• Poppystamps.com Sitting Cat die
• Gold Recollections Embossing Powder

 

Day 2 and 3 - Online Card Classes

I love Kristina Werner's lesson for day 2 of class. Using smaller die cuts inside a larger die! I had some pretty butterflies, leaves and flowers in mind. I first watercolored a 4x6 piece of watercolor paper using Distressed Inks.  Arranged those pieces inside a basic circle die and added a cute sentiment from a Lawn Fawn stamp set.

I am in love with the final look of this card!

Day 3 was about using Basic Shape Dies. I loved Jennifer McGuire's fold-out window card! I'm a big cat lover, so decided to use my new stamp set and basic circle die.

 

Here is what the inside looks like.  After watching how Jennifer folded this card, it is actually very easy to repeat!! I was scared at first thinking it would've been quite difficult. The only difference for me, I did not use the measurements to score/fold. I simply folded the cardstock in half, and front panel in half again. My paper kept coming out uneven trying to use a score board lol!

Colored with Prismacolor Pencils.  Has anyone else learned something new from Online Card Classes?  I'm loving every lesson!! :)

Supplies used: 

• Art Impressions stamp set SCO652
• Master's Touch Water color paper
• Distress Inks
• Prismacolor pencils
• Core'dinations Card Stock
• Crate Paper 12x12 paper pad (Tuesday Morning)
• Spellbinders Dies: Anemone Flower Topper, Damask Motifs, Butterflies Two
• Lawn Fawn "On the mend" stamp set

 

Another Online Card Class!

I'm taking the newest Online Card Class, Stretch Your Dies.  This is posting late since Day 1 of class was Monday...(oops!) but I plan on having all my class work done by Thursday. (that's the goal anyway lol!) This wonderful technique is by Debby Hughes.  I wanted a bit of a challenge and sure did get it with this one!

This is a one layer simple card, however, the word "thanks" is nestled between 2 pattern papers.  The tiny pieces in the center of the words were so tiny and hard to keep track of.  To fix this, I folded 2 dryer sheets (twice each) and stacked them together. After die cutting the sentiment, place the die (with paper still inside) on top of your folded dryer sheets and run through once. The pieces stick to the dryer sheets!! Love it!! :)

 

I hate to waste paper, so used the negative image and small pieces to create a second simple card.

 

Items used:

• Core'dinations Card Stock (Joann's)
• The Paper Studio "Harper's Boutique" paper pack
• Zig two way glue pen
• Paper Smooches Thanks Word 2 Die
• Embellishments

• Spellbinders Anemone Flower Topper die