Butterfly Mobile & tutorial

Good morning everyone!  I'm sure that everyone is about ready for Spring so I'm here with a butterfly mobile because nothing says Spring more than seeing butterflies fluttering everywhere.

First I cut out a bunch of butterflies.  I cut at least 3 of each butterfly of the same pattern and color.   I cut 4 of some but I ended up only using 3 of each.  Pretty, aren't they?

I first scored each butterfly down the center and folded them in half.  I then glued 3 of each of the same butterflies together  putting them back halves together leaving one side open.  Here's 2 of them below so you can see how they look.  You could put 4 of them together but I felt that 3 were plenty.

The reason I left one side open was so that I could put the fishing line into the center of the butterfly before gluing it closed.  I beaded some large beads at the bottom of each fishing line strand to weigh the butterflies down and put some decorative beads in between the butterflies.   I ended up with 6 strands but you can do as many as you like.  I added glitter glue to some of the butterflies just for some sparkle.   I also felt like the basis paper that I had was beautiful but not quite as thick as the metallic/mica paper and the glitter glue made it more sturdy.  I am sending this mobile cross-country so I want it to hold up well during shipment.  Don't worry, I am going to wrap these butterflies very carefully and box them up so they don't get squashed.... at least I sure hope they don't get squashed!

I wrapped a large metal ring with ribbon (lots of glue on the back of it) and hung it with 3 strands of ribbon tied to a center small key ring.  I tied each strand of the mobile to the ring and viola', a butterfly mobile!

Here's a close up of the top half of the mobile.  It looks much better in person!  I didn't really have any rhyme nor reason to what order I put the butterflies or beads, I just had fun making it at random.

 

If I make another one (and my husband says I need to make one for him!) I may choose to have more of a design to it.  The little girl I'm sending it to won't even care if there are two yellow butterflies together (like in the back shown below)... she will be thrilled to receive it and so will her mom!

I hope you enjoyed this little tutorial!  If you have any questions feel free to contact me.  I hope this project will inspire you to enjoy the little things in life just as my daughter and I have always enjoyed looking for butterflies.  Enjoy your weekend!

Paper Temptress Paper:
Mica/Metallic: Azalea, Amethyst, Lagoon
Glimmer: Autumn Hay
Astrobright: Plasma Pink, Lunar Blue, Gamma Green

Dies by: Spellbinders, Memory Box, Poppy Stamps

Happy World Card Making Day

Today is World Card Making Day!  I am so excited to share a Christmas Card with you today as we go through Operation Write Home's  blog hop.  If you haven't heard of Operation Write Home it's an amazing program where card makers can send hand-made cards to soldiers who then use them to write home.  The soldiers received hand-made cards for all occasions to use to send special messages to their loved ones who are left at home while the soldiers are deployed.  What a wonderful program indeed!

For today's Christmas card I had a lot of fun using my Big Shot and my Cricut!  I also used one of my favorite stamps sets by Gina K Designs, Heirloom Ornament Stamp set.  

I stamped the image with Purely Pomegranate (Stampin' Up) ink and then embossed it with clear embossing powder.  You can probably see the embossing a little better below.

It is a delicate card with all the swirls but I like it.  The card base is cut out using Spellbinders Parisian Motifs.  The white shiny snowflake is cut out using a Cricut cartridge called Winter Lace.

I added a little bling and a bow and it was done!  This cute card is small enough that it could hang on a Christmas tree.  I just might have to make one for each of my siblings this year!  (but shhhh, it's a surprise!  lol)

Thank you for stopping by!  I appreciate every visit and comment.  Have fun visiting the rest of the participants in the hop!

And don't forget to visit the link below to see MANY other crafters who are participating in World Card Making Day!

Happy Birthday to Hubby!

I made the following card for my husband on his birthday last month. He really does a lot for me and our children. I appreciate him so much and I had just the stamps that told him so.

First I used JustRite's Decorative 2" Square Monogram Kit. Then I used the octagon nesties to cut it out. I used Verve's Thankful Hearts to stamp the sentiment inside rectangular opening. I LOVE the paper I used which is Basic Grey Origins. I also used a Spellbinder's Borderabilities - Latice and Stampin' Up's Scalloped Edge Punch to finish off the front of the card.


My husband is my hero and I was so happy to have a stamp that said so.



Love those pop-up dots to add dimension! I also used some distress Ink to make the card have a vintage feel.


I've been so blessed to have a husband who is so wonderful. He works so hard to care for our family. Since I got sick with fibromyalgia he has taken over some of the responsibilities that I used to take care of . I just love him so much for it. In April we will be celebrating our 25th anniversary. I am so much more in love with him now than when we first got married. Through the years we have faced many difficulties that most couples face but the most difficult thing has been watching our daughter go through countless medical and surgical procedures, strokes, lung bleeds, bowel issues, just to name a few. It has been the best and worst 21 years of our lives. (our daughter is 21 yrs old but at the level of a 7 yr old). We have grown so much as a family going through all of this together. It really helps to put things in perspective and know what is really important in life. My family is first in my book. (Crafting is a close second! LOL j/k) I love the Lord and am happy to serve Him by caring for His special daughter. Other things will just have to wait.

Thank you for stopping by. I appreciate your visits!

Starting The New Year Off Right!

I have made several cards that I haven't had the opportunity to upload and share with you. Of course you all know I have a daughter with many medical problems and she requires a lot of my time and attention. I also have 3 sons who also need me from time to time. Thanksgiving came and went; we were able to have dinner with my sister & family, my brother and family and parents. It was a lovely time. Then my oldest son got married on Dec 19th! Of course I was busy helping with the wedding plans and am happy to say that the ceremony was just beautiful. All my children were able to participate including Miss Jess who was pushed (in her wheelchair of course) down the isle by a young man she has a little crush on! She was so happy to be a brides maid. Then Christmas was the very next week with New Year following close behind. Lots of fun times! But with the happy comes the sad. My next door neighbor who I mentioned in THIS POST passed away the week before Thanksgiving. Donna fought cancer valiantly but was called home. I'll post another card I made for her in a separate post.

This morning I'm sharing a fun card I made with Flourishes stamp set Life, Love and Lemons. I didn't write all the tools and embellishments that I used but by looking at it I can tell you that I used CM custom cutting system (circles), Sizzix scalloped circle, several Spellbinders dies and Basic Grey paper. The Blue cardstock and white card stock are CM.



The brad is Basic Grey and I don't remember where I got the flowers. The small blue one is paper and punched with a Stampin Up! punch. If you look closely you'll see some paper piercing. I'm not quite sure how the "pros" get theirs to show up better than mine. Oh well, it was fun to do.


Inside views.


I hope you've had a good start to 2010! I'm going to try to post more as I make my cards and scrapbook pages. I am really glad that you came by to visit today!

Here is my card that I made for the Spellbinder's Pendant Project Challenge. I didn't win but that's ok, there were many really amazing cards and other projects! I enjoyed looking at all the entries. I just love my Spellbinders dies.

The girl in this card is one of Whiff of Joy's Summer releases. Her name is Willow with strawberry basket and she has some really intricate designs which made her more difficult to color.. but my copics worked great! The ribbon was fun to use and guess what? The bling is actually an old button from my button box! How fun is that? As always, click on the photo to enlarge.


I used several Spellbinders shapes on this card and gave it dimension with pop dots.


Here is the inside. More Spellbinders shapes including the butterfly and the border. The center of the flower is a great place to write your own sentiment.


More fun dimension.


I had forgotten to use my glitter pen on the flowers on Willow's dress so here's a picture showing that little sparkle and a little of the glitter on the designer paper.


I really enjoyed making this card. I can't wait to color some of the other Whiff of Joy images and make more cards.

Thanks for stopping by!

Lazy Days of Summer

I love the new Lockhart Stamp Company's new Wicker Chair stamp. It makes me think of the lazy days of summer - no school - which means I don't have to worry about making my boys do their homework, school activities and all the other craziness that comes throughout the school year. I love spending time just relaxing on our back patio - that is when it's not too hot! LOL Last night after I got Jessica to bed I took Mary (Jessica's bunny) outside to her cage for the night. I sat on our bench swing and just enjoyed the night air. It was about 2am and it was very quiet. The night breeze was cool which is rare in July in Southern AZ so it was really nice.

I used chalks for the sky and grass; and colored pencils and OMS to color the chair and flowers. I just had to try out my new Spellbinders Pendant- Fleur de Lis . I used the sketch from Mojo Monday to construct my card. The paper is Stampin UP!: "Walk in the Park", Baja Breeze and Cameo Coral. Ink: Momento Tuxedo Black; SU Taken with Teal

I'm pretty happy with how it turned out. As always, click on the photo to enlarge it.



Here's a picture of the inside.


I was actually able to take the pictures on my front porch. Most of the time I finish my cards during the night and have to worry about my light source but this time I was up ALL NIGHT and took the pictures this morning. Don't worry, I'm headed to bed in a few minutes and Jessica had a home health aide who will be here this afternoon so I can have a nap.

Thanks for stopping by!

Sketch Challenge for JustRite Stamp Company

I made this card for a JustRite sketch challenge found here. It was a fun sketch to work with and the prize is fabulous! Here is what is posted on their blog: "One lucky participant in the sketch will win today's release- Witch Way to the Treats, 1 3/16" Stamper, Autumn Blessings,2 1/4" x 3 1/16" Stamper plus the Harmony Rectangular stamper- set of 2 and your choice of two JustRite Fonts- Over $100.00 in prizes. "
There's already 129 contestants so it's not likely that I'll win... but it's always fun to play!




I used Basic Grey Wisteria paper pack and then distressed it a bit... maybe a bit too much in my opinion but I'm still trying to figure out how to use Tim Holtz's ink and distressing tools. I used my new JustRite "Tiny words" set for the sentiment and the swirls behind it. What a cute set! I stamped the flourishes onto the background using a stamp from Stampin Ups!'s "Yummy". It was a set I received free several months ago.



The cut-out is Spellbinder's new Lattice Borderabilities. What a fun set! Of course all the other shapes were done using Spellbinders dies. I hope you enjoy the card! I worked on it through the night inbetween putting my daughter back to bed multiple times. Darn tummy aches.... but now she is sleeping so I'm going to go catch some zzzzZZZZzzzzzZZzzzz's too!

Have a great day!