Rainbow Butterfly

The challenge is RAINBOW for the 3rd birthday celebrations 

at the Less is More Challenge!

I knew right away that I wanted to go with watercolours since

I've been experimenting and practicing again.

I dropped the colors on wet watercolour paper before stamping the 

sentiment from Verve's Words of Wisdom.  I added some Ranger Enamel 

Accents and a black butterfly using Spellbinders Nestabilities Butterflies. 

 It was a quick clean and simple card but there's nothing 

like rainbow colours to cheer me up -

thanks for the challenge, Chrissie and Jen!

Button Blessed

A card for this week's CASual Friday's challenge which is Over the Edge 

and Splitcoaststampers Inspiration Challenge!

I used a stencil and Stampin Up's Lucky Limeade ink for the background.

The word "blessed" has been cut with a Papertrey Ink die three times using dp and green cardstock, then layered up for extra dimension.  It gives a sort of chipboard appearance.  

My son, who's doing a graphic design degree at university, bought some spray mounting adhesive and has a lot left over - I've found it works great for spraying the back of intricate die-cuts for adhering instead of going to the trouble of adding a bunch of little dots of glue!

The sentiment, which is "off the edge" is from Our Daily Bread Designs. 

I love this sweet way of saying thankyou!

And on that note - thank you for stopping by today, your visit to my

 blog really does bless me!  And blessings to you today!

Love Birds on a Wire

A fun CAS card for today's Featured Stamper Challenge at Splitcoaststampers - it's Doni, aka donidoodle and HERE is the fab card which inspired me.

I used various Ranger Distress inks after masking with post-it-notes to make a rainbow backround, then drew in the wire.  The birds are die-cut using Memory Box Nestled Bird die, and the sentiment is one I cut from a Paper Artsy image - it was just too perfect for what I had in mind, so I had to make it into a stamp I could use separately.  I think this could be used for an anniversary or engagement card!  

Thanks so much for stopping by today!

Grunge Coffee

It's rare for me to make a card with no embellishments 

and this one has no colouring either but that's what the
Free for All Challenge at Splitcoaststampers is today!

I used Flourishes So Distressed to create the background 

with Ranger Distress and Stampin Up inks.

I stamped the coffee cup from Flourishes Grab a Cup in Memento 

Tuxedo Black ink twice, then sponged the the different layers 

with ink before popping up the lid and the coffee sleeve.

A quick and easy card, the grunge look is fun to play with - it's 

kind of hard to make a mistake!  :)

Thanks for stopping by today!

I Choose To Believe

Today I've got a card to share with you using a couple of sets
from the January release at Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps which
I've left out on the craft table to
use again and again since I got them.

The sentiments in the set The Future are all encouraging and
inspiring but this one by Corrie Ten Boom really speaks to me,
especially knowing her story.  Her experiences in a German
prison camp during World War 2 - especially the brutality and
the death of her dear sister,
Betsie - make this statement even more meaningful.

To believe that God is both all powerful and all loving when life
 is painful takes making a choice, even if we have to askGod for
the faith to make it. Corrie Ten Boom chose to believe and
God endedup using her in the most amazing way!

I stamped the sentiment in gray (Archival Starlite) to
match the look of the weathered wood of the dp panel
and the circle is sponged lightly with Stampin Up's Pool Party ink to
give some contrast. The dp is from Prima's Fairy
Rhymes collection - Secret Garden.

The butterflies from Majestic Monarchs are so easy
to use with the new Monarch Dies - I love seeing that perfect
little border when it comes out of the Cuttlebug!  They're coloured with copics.

Thank you for stopping by today!

Vintage Bird

I was in the vintage/retro Irish shop Avoca in Belfast city centre yesterday and picked up a sheet of some vintage wrapping paper with a bird theme - it has a beautiful linen texture and I couldn't wait to get it home and try it out for some cards.  

Here's my first try, though if I cut the paper strategically, I should be able to make quite a few creations with it.  I stitched the the paper on to a panel before adding some lace, buttons, a flower and some pins.  

The sentiment is from Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps Precious Poppies, it's stamped on an oval cut using Spellbinders Ovals Petite, and sponged with Ranger Distress Antique Linen ink.  

Mother's Day here in the U.K. and Ireland is in March rather than in May as it is in North America, so I'm not working as far ahead as you might think!

Thanks for stopping by today, have a good weekend!

Fight, Hope, Believe, Pray

What better way to brighten a dark, grey, cold winter day than to work with brilliant colours and patterns - I received a Basic Grey's Knee High 6 x 6 paper pad for Christmas and it sure fits the bill!

I love the new releases from Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps and combined these sentiments from God is Bigger and the little birdie from Valentine Critters to make a card for someone going through a very rough time. The bird has been paper pieced and I used copics to create the grass.

The words are stamped on pennants cut using the SNSS Pennants and More Dies and the little heart is cut using SNSS Heart Dies.

Just for fun I created a little fringe on the ends of the twine this time.  

Thanks for stopping by today, I hope it's a good one for you!