Flight of the Butterfly Pretties

I needed a card for someone that was down in the dumps and decided that the saying from Flight of the Butterfly was perfect for the occasion. "If nothing ever changed there would be no butterflies-unknown". Haven't we all be there. I am a firm believer in 'Everything happens for a Reason'. Some of the best things in my life have come from terrible events pointing the way.

This card is a very simple card but I just think it is very elegant and gets the point across. I know I would feel better just by looking at it :) The card base is Sage Shadow; however, I put a piece of Soft Suede on the inside of the cover to give the layered look at the bottom.

Supplies:
Stamp Set(s) - Flight of the Butterfly
Card Stock - Sage Shadow, Whisper White, Soft Suede
Ink - Sage Shadow, Handsome Hunter
Accessories -Pretties Kit, 1/2" Polka-Dot Grosgrain Soft Suede Ribbon, Scallop Edge Punch

Challenge Submission

Those who follow me on Twitter (http://twitter.com/nicolestamper) know that I have decided to start participating in challenges.  I think that it will give me more to be creative with then just prepping for classes and holidays.  I am very excited!  The first challenge I am going to do is this one.

It was a long day at work yesterday and when I finally got home in the evening I was so excited to relax and stamp I went a little crazy with ideas.  I ended up making 3 cards that met the requirements of the challenge.  The requirements are to use Chocolate and Orange.  One of the cards I decided to cut and will show you it another day.  The other 2 I just couldn't decide between so I have posted both here.  Maybe she will consider both :) 

The first card is a simple card, which tend to be my favorite.  I used Pumpkin Pie as the base of the 4x4 card.  The flower is Fleurettes II and a Chocolate Chip Corduroy Button.  The saying is a rub-on.

Supplies:
Card Stock - Pumpkin Pie
Accessories -5/8" Chocolate Chip Grosgrain Ribbon, Greatest Moments Rub-ons (retired), Chocolate Chip Corduroy Button, Fleurettes II

The Second card has some detail that the picture does not do justice.  I used textured Chocolate Chip Cardstock for the card base.  Around the entire edge of the card I paper pierced a border.  In the center I used punches and accessories to give the card dimension.  For the saying, I again used Rub-Ons.

Supplies:
Stamp Set - Flight of the Butterfly
Card Stock - Pumpkin Pie, Whisper White, Chocolate Chip textured
Ink - Pumpkin Pie
Accessories - Pretties Kit, Butterfly Punch, Designer Label Punch, Clear Rhinestone Brads, Paper-Piercing Tool, Mat Pack, Greatest Moments Rub-Ons (retired)

Butterfly Scrapbook Page

I LOVE to Scrapbook but I must admit that I am Way behind. I was married last May and I am still at the beginning phases of scrapbooking the event. My husband teases me because I have all these started scrapbooks (our wedding, our dating years, mini scrapbooks, etc) but have not seemed to be able make much progress. I find myself stopping my projects to make gifts and books for others. Of course I love doing those too! I wish that I could find a group of people like me that would like to get together once or twice a month to scrapbook and socialize. I also wouldn't mind having more hours in a day :D

For today's project I have created a cute, simple 6x6 scrapbook page. Then I will show you how to make that 6x6 page into a 12x12 page. I am a big fan of the 6x6 scrapbook. They are great to carry around and show off your pictures. I also realize that some events just can not truly be displayed on a small page.

This page is very simple with some dimension added with the fly away butterfly. I punched the butterfly out twice from Certainly Celery, one I stamped with one of the stamps from Flight of the Butterfly (the Butterfly Punch works perfectly with this set). I taped the plain butterfly down. Then I put a piece of Sticky Strip on the body of the stamped butterfly. I glued it down then folded up the wings. I love using this technique. See this used on a card here.

Here is a completed 12x12 page using the 6x6 page above. This will be the first page of my Honeymoon album if I can ever get it completed :D One page down.... The lettering is the Naturally Serif Alphabet for the Big Shot. I love doing journaling creatively whenever possible, I think it adds so much to a page. It is hard to tell in the picture; however, I did the same flowers along the corner of the 12x12 page using So Saffron that I did on the 6x6 page.

Supplies:
Stamp Set(s) - Flight of the Butterfly
Card Stock - Bashful Blue, Certainly Celery, Rose Red, So Saffron
Ink - Certainly Celery, Bashful Blue, So Saffron, Basic Black Stampin' Write Marker
Accessories -Butterfly Punch, Curly Label Punch, Sticky Strip, Big Shot, Naturally Serif Alphabet

With All My Heart Card

I am having a great time preparing for Valentine's Day! I love making cards and Valentine's Day is one of my favorite holidays (right after Christmas). I will be posting many Valentine's Day cards but here is my first one of the season!

I got the Sending Love Speciality Designer Series Paper and I just LOVE it! Every page in the pack has glitter on one side of the paper. It makes adding dimension and bling to cards and scrapbook pages so easy!

On this card you will notice the 'with all my' stamped sideways. Notice that it is perfectly straight? I didn't use the Stamp-A-Majig, I used our new clear blocks and repositionable rubber! They are so easy to use, so convenient, and still the same great Stampin' Up! quality! For the heart, I cut it out by hand and attached it using Dimensionals to have it 'pop' off the card.


Supplies:
Stamp Set(s) - Love You Much, With All My Heart
Card Stock - Chocolate Chip, Very Vanilla, So Saffron, DS Sending Love Specialty
Ink - Basic Brown; So Saffron and Pretty in Pink Markers
Accessories -5/8" Pretty in Pink Grosgrain Ribbon, Chocolate Chip Corduroy Buttons, Dimensionals

Decor Elements

Stampin' Up! offers a line of Decor Elements. They are Great for home decor. You can view the new catalog here. I have had a great time decorating my home with them. Now you can make Decor Elements your own by creating your own vinyl images using the Decor Elements sheets and your Big Shot or Punches.


Each package comes with 2 sheets of vinyl, along with two sheets of transfer tape (approx. 14-1/4" x 24"). There are 20 different colors available along with chalkboard and clear. They are currently not listed in any catalog; however, can be found online so visit my store today.

For today's project, I used these Vinyl Sheets to decorate a mini mailbox for Valentine's Day. I used Rose Red and Pretty in Pink. This is what they look like when they come to you.


Next I used my punches to punch out some hearts.

Then I cut the transfer paper into squares that would fit my hearts.

To attach the transfer paper you just peel off the backing and then stick to the color side of the vinyl paper images.

From here you remove the back of the vinyl image making sure not to touch the sticky image or have it fold onto itself. Stick the image to where you want to apply it and rub on the transfer paper with the Decor Applicator or Bone Folder.

When you remove the transfer paper you have your image, just as simple as that!

You can decorate all sorts of items! Check out my completed mailbox. I am already to receive Valentine's Day cards!

Supplies:
Card Stock - Decor Elements Sheets - Pretty in Pink, Rose Red
Accessories -Large Heart Punch, 3 Hearts Punch, Decor Applicator or Bone Folder

*I found the mailbox in a dollar bin at Target

Sale-A-Bration Time!

Sale-A-Bration

Sale-A-Bration, Stampin' Up!'s biggest event of the year, means friends, fresh ideas, and free products! And with three ways to earn exclusive Sale-A-Bration products, there's something for everyone.

Spend: Buy $50 worth of Stampin' Up! products and get a FREE Sale-A-Bration reward!

Host: Host a $300 workshop, and get a FREE Sale-A-Bration reward!

Join: Become a demonstrator, and get 15% off your Starter Kit and a FREE stamp set (up to a $47.95 value)!

This promotion ends March 31, so contact me today to spend, host, or join! Or click here to see the Sale-A-Bration brochure.

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year! I can not believe the holidays are over already! Now that I have made it through December I resolve to get back to blogging! Something always slides in December. I thought I prepared myself in advance for many things, however, I am always still VERY busy!

Tomorrow is the big day...the start of SALE-A-BRATION! My Favorite time of the year! This year Stampin' Up! has extended Sale-A-Bration for 3 months! And they extended what you earn to items in the current catalog! Contact me today to learn more! Or visit my online store by going to http://nicolebstampin.stampinup.net and clicking 'shop now' in the top right hand corner.

After all the Christmas cards and projects I am ready for a change of pace (dont get me wrong, I LOVE making Christmas cards and projects). Here is a very simple but creative card. I saw a card like this quite a while ago but I do not remember where (sorry). The Love Bug is stamped twice and on one sheet of paper the head is punched out and then layered over the other sheet with Dimensionals. I had originally only colored part of the Love Bug with white (only shapes here and there) but my mother went back over him completely with white. So whatever you choose is cute. I added the scalloped edge for a little more dimension.

Supplies:
Stamp Set(s) - Love Bug (level 1 hostess set)
Card Stock - Rich Razzleberry, Whisper White
Ink - Basic Black
Accessories -1/2" Polka-Dot Grosgrain Rich Razzleberry Ribbon, Scallop Edge Punch, 1-1/4" Square Punch, Uni-Ball Signo Gel Pen, Dimensionals