Butterfly Take 3!

If you're a regular follower of my blog than you've probably read my post from last week explaining my latest love of the Butterfly Ribbon Slides from DRS Designs. Here's another take using them.   

For this Birthday card, I stamped the Polka Dot Background (688P) to create my own patterned paper.  I stamped the butterfly twice and colored it with Copic Markers and then cut each one out.  I layered one on top of the other and attached them together using 3 black brads.  I love how the brads make it look like the butterfly's body.  Then I just bent up the wings of the top butterfly to give it a 3D look.  The Another Year Flies By sentiment (489F) is perfect for a card like this with these layered butterflies, I couldn't help but use it again!

If you missed the yellow and blue butterflies, please make sure to check them out.  I promise you won't be disappointed!  Stay tuned, I still have one more set of the Butterfly Ribbon Slide to show off and it will be here soon!

Hope you all have a wonderful weekend!

Thanks for stopping by!

Smiles,

Jennifer

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Butterfly Happiness!

Back in June when I created this Butterfly Birthday card for DRS Designs Give Away, I went on a butterfly frenzy and colored up a whole bunch of Butterfly Ribbon Slides (681D).  In the midst of transforming my stamping room to the baby's nursery, I misplaced the envelope with all the butterflies in it and guess what I found just the other day?!?!?  So, needless to say, I've drawn up a bunch of card sketches so that I can use them up.  I hope you like these butterflies as much as I do, cause I'm going to be showing them off a lot in the next few weeks!  I wouldn't want you to get bored seeing them though, so don't worry, they are all different colors! ;-)

I put the yellow one to use using this weeks Splitcoast Sketch challenge #346. 

I used the Happiness Butterfly Greeting (222G) as my focal point.  I cut it out using a Nestability die and inked the edges yellow before taking it out of the die.  The white panel I used in the background for the card front was stamped using the Silhouette Butterfly Background (536H). I heat embossed it using Diamonds and Pearls Embossing powder.  The Polka Dot panel was also stamped using DRS Designs Polka Dot Background stamp (688P).  Some black grosgrain ribbon added a nice touch to this panel. 

As the final step I cut out 2 of the yellow Butterfly Ribbon Slides and attached them with 3 black brads and then adhered it to the card front as shown.  I love the 3D effect that makes the butterfly look as if it's flying! 

Thanks for stopping by and stay tuned to see more butterfly goodness coming soon!

Smiles,
Jennifer

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As Another Year Flies By!

Did you know DRS Designs has stamps for your envelopes too? Check out the Envelope Art section of the catalog to see their address labels and postage frames.  Here's a birthday card I made using one of the postage frames. 

I've used the Butterfly Vine as the focal point on my card front and added the Butterfly Ribbon Slide (681D) to the postage/photo area.  Both were colored with Copic Markers.  I stamped, cut out, and colored 2 of the butterflies and overlapped them.  I added 3 brads to the butterfly bodies to hold them together and adhered them in place to give the illusion of a "flying" butterfly.

The card front was stamped with the "Another Year Flies By" Greeting (489F) that I split up to fit my layout.  An embossing folder, a decorative border punch and some rhinestones created a very elegant birthday card.  Wouldn't you agree?

Hope you all have a great day!

Smiles,

Jennifer

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Yee-Haw! I've Been Published!

About 9 months ago I submitted this card for the Stamp and Scrap Arts Magazine's call for Country Western projects.  I had a feeling it was selected for the magazine because I sent a stamped return envelope with it and never received it back!  Woo Hoo! You can see it in the July 2011 issue on page 30.

All of the stamps used on this card are by DRS Designs.  The Cowboy Garb (1121K) was colored with Copic Markers.  Don't you just love the colors on this card?  Nothing says Country Western to me like brown and teal! I masked off the edges around the image with Post-It Notes and then sponged around it with light teal ink. I matted it with teal and brown cardstock and added a fun brown and white polka dot ribbon to the bottom of the matted image.

The card front was simply made from teal cardstock.  I adhered the matted image on an angle to the center of the card front and stamped the In The Accessories Greeting (155D) on an angle as well just above it.  I embellished the lower right and the lower left sides of the card front with brown petite brads as shown. 

The star embellishment was actually created using the Star Ribbon Slide (963D).  I heat embossed it with teal embossing powder and then after cutting it out, I tied the brown and white polka dot ribbon thru it.  I matted it on a brown scalloped Nestie circle and then adhered it to the upper right portion of the stamped image.  The card front was then adhered to a brown A2 sized cardstock base. 

Really like this card? Then you might also like this other Country Western card I made with some of the same stamps, but in red and brown.  You can see it HERE.

Thanks for letting me share my good news with you today!

Hope you have a good one! 

Smiles,

Jennifer

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CAS Christmas Bling

I've been busy playing with DRS Designs new Fall stamps, and many of those projects are still in progress.  I should have them ready to show you very soon. 

It's been awhile since I've used any of DRS Designs Ribbon Slides and since this Poinsettia slide (936D) is new to me, it was time that I finally put it to use!

I created this Clean and Simple card to show it off, and I've used a few other DRS stamps as well. On the kraft cardstock I stamped the Lines O'Plenty background (366H) with white Staz On ink. I used the white Staz On to ink the edges as well to create a snowy look.

I adhered green cardstock to the bottom of the kraft cardstock and added the Wonderful Christmas Sentiment (971F) stamped in black ink. Next I stamped and colored the Poinsettia Ribbon Slide (936D) with Copic Markers and cut out the 2 center pieces. I threaded red polka dot ribbon thru those openings and adhered the ribbon slide onto a small white piece of cardstock that was cut out using a scallop circle Nestability. I then used the ribbon to cover up the seam between the Kraft and Green cardstock panels.

The next step was a bit time consuming but it really dressed this CAS card right up! I individually adhered clear rhinestones to create a border just above the ribbon. Yep, you read that right, "clear" rhinestones. I purchase a bulk bag of the clear ones and color them with Copic Markers to match whatever project I use them on. I know I've save quite a few pennies doing it this way! It's so much cheaper than buying them in packages of assorted colors!

Finally, I adhered the card front to a red cardstock base and then used my favorite Xmas Red Stickles to dress up the poinsettia. I love its simple sparkle!

Thanks for visiting today! I appreciate it!

Smiles,

Jennifer

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Card Patterns Sponsorship!

Here's another chance to win FREE stamps from DRS Designs!

This week DRS Designs is sponsoring the Card Patterns Blog Sketch Challenge. 

My challenge card uses stamps from DRS Designs and includes the newly released Wintertime Buddies image (362). 

I used only the upper portion of the Wintertime Buddies stamp.  I masked it and then clear embossed the Interlocking Snowflakes Background (H015) to make it look like it was snowing around them.  Sponging blue ink on top of the snowflakes made them appear white.  I also used the Star Ribbon Slides (D963) as embellishments.

A bit of Icicle Stickles made this snowman come to life!

Make sure to check out all of the details over at the Card Patterns blog and link up your take on the sketch to be entered to win a $10 voucher to DRS Designs!
 Thanks for visiting!

Smiles,

Jennifer

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Twinkling Christmas!

Are you sick of making Christmas cards like me?  Last night I decided to make a Christmas card that didn't look too much like Christmas. 

Stamps: DRS Designs- Glittering/Twinkling Christmas Greeting (G1000), Star Ribbon Slide (D963), Starry Background (H124)


Even though I used non traditional colors for this card, it is still very festive--The sentiment was heat embossed with an embossing powder/fine glitter mixture I created, so there's plenty of sparkle on this card.  

I heat embossed the Star Ribbon slide as well with yellow embossing powder and I painted it with Beeswax Shimmerz to give it some shine!  The red organza ribbon really gives this card the elegance that a Christmas card should have.

Happy Stamping and Happy Holidays to you!
Hope you have a wonderful Day!

Smiles,

Jennifer

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Winter Treat and Some Candy!

It's a new year and the DRS Designs DT has a new set of challenges!! We would love for you to play along. You don't have to use DRS images if you don't have them yet...we know you will soon and you can use them for later challenges!

Today the design team was presented with a challenge to use any of the DRS Designs ribbon slides as their focal image. If you would like to play along, just post a comment with a direct link to your creation on the DRS Designs Blog so we can come check it out! If you upload to a public gallery, please use the keyword DRSC12.

As an added incentive for you to play along, one lucky challenge participant will be eligible to win some ribbon slides for their very own! Anyone can participate as long as you use some kind of ribbon slide for your focal point. On Sunday, January 25, one random winner will be drawn from all the entries. The winner will win a selection of ribbon slides...BUT...if the winner also used DRS Designs stamps in their project, they will win an even bigger selection of slides! We really hope you play along. Be sure to use DRSC12 if you upload your creation to a public gallery. Remember, the only way to be entered in the drawing is to post a direct link to your creation on the DRS Designs Challenge Post.

For this challenge I created a Hot Cocoa Holder card.

I embossed the Snowflake Ribbon Slide and the new Mega Snowflake Circle in silver embossing powder. I matted both of these images using my nesties as shown to create the focal point of my project. I used a large rhinestone in the middle of the ribbon slide for a little sparkle!

I also heat embossed the sentiment, on both the front and the inside...

...and used watermark ink to stamp the snowflake background on the front & inside of the card.

Stamps: DRS Designs- Snowflake Ribbon Slide, Mega Snowflake Circle, Snowflake Easy Background, Treat For you Sentiment
Ink: Rubber Stampede Embossing Ink, Versamark Watermark Ink
Paper: Smooth white cardstock by Office Depot, Colored Cardstock by The Paper Company, Silver Paper unknown
Accessories: Creative Beginnings Silver Embossing Powder, Martha Stewart Star Border Punch, Ribbon by Offray Holiday Sentiments, Nesties, EK Success Corner Rounder, Darice Finishing Accent Rhinestones
Finished Card Size: 4" x 5.75"

Wouldn't this be a perfect reward for someone who just shoveled your driveway on a cold Winter day!

We just got about 8 inches of snow Saturday night. So, who wants come over my house to shovel?

I'll give you this special treat...Promise!

Pretty Please with a cherry on top?

Oh, please don't make me go out in the cold!

I guess I'll just have to reward myself with it.

:-)

Smiles,
Jennifer

PS: Don't forget to give this challenge a try to be elgible to win some of the great Ribbon Slide images from DRS Designs!

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Tree of Lights!

Sorry I missed Card Sketch Wednesday yesterday. Things are just too busy for me right now and I'm going to put it off until the new Year. I'm sure you can all relate as well--Does anyone have spare time this time of year? I'm finding it very hard to get into my craft room right now. I guess you could say that I'm choosing sleep over crafting! LOL!

However, I do have a card to share with you today...it's taken me all week to work on it!

All images on this card are by DRS Designs, and were colored with pencils--no Gamsol. I also lightly sponged the tree with green ink to fill it in a little. The red, green and yellow bulbs are ribbon slide images, with green grosgrain ribbon threaded through them. I tried my best not to make them look like a traffic light, but I should have thought of that before I colored them!

Stamps: DRS Designs- Christmas Tree of Lights, Wonderful Christmas Sentiment, Single Bulb Ribbon Slide
Ink: Versafine Onyx Black, Colorbox Fluid Chalk Ink in Warm Green
Paper: Smooth white cardstock by Office Depot, Colored Cardstock by The Paper Company and Bazzill
Accessories: Red Brads by Recollections, Green Grosgain ribbon by Michael's
Finished Card Size: 5.5" x 5.5"

Happy Holidays!

Smiles,
Jennifer

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Geometric Note!

When I stamp & create my cards I usually have a plan. Either I've already colored the image that I want to use, I have a sketch drawn out on a piece of scratch paper, or flat out, I have the finished card pictured in my head. Yes, that last one happens, but not too often!

Earlier this week I sat in my studio wanting to do something different, or should I say, create something different. I came up with the idea that I was just going to stamp away without any type of plan & just let my fingers do the creating without putting any major thought into what I was going to come up with.

The outcome...is this Geometric Note Card!
Definitely, not my usual style, but that's what I was going for!

This card features one of the new Ribbon Slides by DRS Designs. However, I've used it like an embellishment here, rather than a ribbon slide. I added a brad to the center, which is where you would remove the 2 small portions to thread the ribbon through it.

I had fun using brown ink, and lots of cuts with my Nestabilities. I also used the Easy Dot Background stamp to make my own pattern paper. I thought it would go well with the dots on the button ribbon slide.

I didn't plan for a sentiment on this card at all (well, there was no planning anything, remember?) but when all was said and done it needed something. I managed to use my Stamp-a-ma-jig to squeeze "Just a Note" right in between all of those dots and the scalloped squares! Turned out pretty well didn't it?

Then I added the matted ribbon slides on with foam tape and added some dark brown and copper ribbon to the bottom for a little umph.

Stamps: DRS Designs- Button Ribbon Slide, Easy Dot Background Stamp, Just a Note...Sentiment
Ink: Versafine Onyx Black, Colorbox Fluid Chalk Ink in Chestnut Roan
Paper: Smooth white cardstock by Office Depot, Colored Cardstock by The Paper Company
Accessories: Nesties, Stamp-a-ma-jig, Brads by Joann's Scrap Essentials, Ribbon by Bobbie M. Designs and Midori Double Faced Satin Velvet Brown ribbon
Finished Card Size: Approx. 5" x 6" (Sorry, again I forgot to write down the size of the card before I sent it to DRS Designs.)

So, Do you have any big plans for this weekend? Today, we were going to go and cut down our Christmas Tree, but we woke up to an unexpected blizzard outside and it's only about 20 degrees. I think we'll try again tomorrow! Tomorrow my mom and sister will be coming over because it is baking day at my house--Christmas Cookies that is! I'm so excited!

Hope you have a wonderful weekend!

Smiles,
Jennifer

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Howdy Cowboys!

Howdy Ya'll!

Any Country Western fans out there?

I am, and I was drawn to this Cowboy Silhouette image as soon as I saw it in the DRS Designs catalog! I jumped for joy when I saw it in my recent package of DT stamps.

Woo Hoo, Lucky Me!

This card also features one of the new Ribbon Slides just released. (You can see all of the DRS Designs new releases by clicking here.) The square illusion of this ribbon slide reminds me of a belt buckle--not the typical kind of belt buckles cowboys wear, but I think it's fitting for this card, Don't you?

I used my Cuttlebug and the Traffic Jam Squares embossing folder to create the background. I thought the raised squares went well with the square ribbon slide. See, it all kind of fits together! LOL!

I coordinated the 2 main layers with my Notched Corner punch, and then added yellow bling jewels to accent the golden colored background.

I distressed the edges around the cowboys to give it a smoky feel. Hey, maybe they're riding along the Great Smokey Mountains!

Stamps: DRS Designs- Square Illusion Ribbon Slide, Cowboy Silhouette
Ink: Versafine Onyx Black, Colorbox Fluid Chalk Ink in Charcoal
Paper: Smooth white cardstock by Office Depot, Colored Cardstock by The Paper Company,
Accessories: Cuttlebug and Traffic Jam Embossing Folder, Ribbon by Bobbie M. Designs, SU! Notched Corner Punch, Hero Arts Gem Stones
Finished Card Size: approx. 5" x 7" (Sorry for the approximation here. I forgot to measure it before I shipped this card off in a package to DRS Designs. It was a large car though, as the Cowboy Silhouette image measures 3.25" x 3" itself.)

Thanks for stopping by today. I appreciate your visit!

See Ya'll tomorrow!

Smiles,
Jennifer

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Let It Snow!

The title of this post is "Let It Snow", but not right now! LOL! I'm not ready for all that yet!

But, I've titled it because of this cute little guy by DRS Designs.

I made this card using the DRS Designs Blog sketch challenge from last week. Did you get a chance to play? Click here to see the DRS Designs Sketch Challenge post.

As you can see, I played with the DRS Designs new snowflake background stamp and the snowflake ribbon slide again. I created my own pattern paper with my brayer again too! I had a lot of fun making this card. It does have a lot of my favorite things on it though too--blue is my favorite color, I love snowmen, the new snowflake background stamp is one of my favorite DRS Designs stamps, and adding a little sparkle to any of my projects is my favorite finishing touch!

I colored this image with Prismacolor Pencils and blended the colors with Gamsol. I'm not going into all of the detail on how I made this card today. Sorry, I'm a little pressed for time this morning, as I'm not sure how long it will take me to vote, and I have to be to work by 2pm! They're expecting long lines everywhere today! Did you vote yet?

This picture here shows all the sparkle!

Stamps: DRS Designs- Vertical Let It Snow, Interlocking Snowflake Background, Snowflake Ribbon Slide
Ink: Versafine Onyx Black, SU! Ballet Blue, Colorbox Fluid Chalk Ink in Azurite Blue
Paper: Smooth white cardstock by Office Depot, Colored cardstock by Bazzill and The Paper Company
Accessories: Offray Ribbon, Glitter Glue, Inkadinkado chalk, Prismacolor Pencils and Gamsol,

Stay tuned for my Card Sketch Wednesday post tomorrow!

Thanks for visiting today, I'm glad you stopped by!

Smiles,
Jennifer

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Halloween Dahlia Flower!

I know today is Fun Filled Friday and I'm supposed to be posting my Sympathy challenge card today...Well, I'm running a little behind this week, and wanted to show you this cutie first! So, no worries, my challenge card will be posted later today.

DRS Designs will be releasing new Halloween and Fall Stamps on Monday September 15th. How many of you love their Ribbon Slides? I know I do! They are so much fun & add a lot of dimension to your work. Well, here's another one to add to your collection!

To make this card, I first used house-hold cleaning bleach with a sponge and a paint brush to add lighter highlights to my orange cardstock. Then, I created the Dalia (the center flower) using the Dahlia Fold technique. You can see tutorials here and here.

I used my Marvy Uchida 1.5" scallop circle punch to punch out 9 scalloped circles. I used the tutorials above to fold them and create each petal. I found it best to use regular tape to hold the petals together as I created each one.

After I created the Dahlia flower, I stamped the pumpkin ribbon slide image on smooth white cardstock, and colored it with my Bic Markers. I cut it out, and also cut out the center portion. I threaded a small piece of black and orange ribbon through the center and adhered it to the back of the ribbon slide. I used my Nesties to cut a small black circle to put behind the ribbon slide, and then adhered it to the center of my Dahlia flower.

I formed my black cardstock base to measure for an A2 size card (4.25" x 5.5") but created it so that the fold was on the left, short side of the card. I layered cardstock as shown, and added one of the older Halloween sentiments by DRS Designs with black ink.

I love the dimension the Dahlia fold technique gives to each project. Here you can see just how much "lift" is created by each fold.

Make sure to stop by DRS Designs on Monday (September 15th) to check out all of the new releases. If you're a Fall and Halloween lover like me, then you're not going to want to miss it!

Stamps: DRS Designs- Pumpkin Ribbon Slide (to be released on Sept. 15, 2008), 2 Line Vertical Happy Halloween Sentiment
Ink: Versafine Onyx Black
Paper: Smooth white cardstock by Office Depot, colored cardstock by Bazzill and Paper Reflections
Accessories: Chlorox Bleach, Bic Markers, May Arts Ribbon, Nesties, Marvy Uchida Circle Scallop punch

Have a great weekend!

Smiles,
Jennifer

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Elegant Birthday Card for Card Sketch Wednesday

Today is Card Sketch Wednesday on my blog and earlier today I posted this challenge sketch. Did you give it a try? Are you planning on working on it later? I'd love to see your version.

Here's my Card Sketch Wednesday Challenge card. I love the Red, Black and white, and think this turned out so elegant.

I used one of the new Ribbon Slides by DRS Designs on this card. I'm loving them lately. They are fun to use & add a lot of dimension to your work. Plus, my favorite part is that they are a paper/flat embellishment. No heavy metal to worry about if you need to send a card through the mail. You can see the rest of the ribbon slides by DRS Designs here.

For those of you unfamiliar with how ribbon slides work, they are really quite easy to use. All you do is remove the areas that have an X on them, using either an exacto blade or by poking a hole with a pointed pair of scissors and then cutting the X portion out. (That's what I do.) Then, they work like a buckle with the ribbon sliding up from the back and down over the center portion, or tying a knot over the center post.

This particular slide is designed to be punched out with a 1" circle punch, making it quick and easy to use.

Have you noticed how similar this ribbon slide is to the Cuttlebug Textile Texture Embossing folder? The patterns are so similar it's practically a perfect match! I think they complement each other very well.

Well, after I punched out the ribbon slides I felt they need something more than just the ribbon in the center. I thought they would look nice matted in red, a scallop just as I had done with the sentiment. Well, I didn't have a scallop punch that fit them, and my scallop Nesties were too big, so I improvised, and it worked!!

I used a Flower paper punch to create those red scallop mats you see behind each ribbon slide. I punched 2 flowers for each ribbon slide and adhered them on top of one another. Then, I adhered the ribbon slide onto the matted flowers and Viola! the appearance of a scalloped circle that fit around the ribbon slides perfectly!
This is a pic of the scrap piece of red cardstock I used to punch out my flowers to give you an idea about the punch I used.

This finished card size measures 5.5" x 4.25" (A2)

Stamps: DRS Designs- Flourish Ribbon Slide, Happy Moments/Happy Days Sentiment
Ink: Versafine Onyx Black, Rubber Stampede Embossing ink, Colorbox Fluid Chalk in Charcoal
Paper: Smooth cardstock by Paper Reflections
Accessories: Creative Beginnings White Embossing powder, Black brad-unknown, Red Ribbon-Unknown, Textile Texture Cuttlebug Embossing Folder, Nestabilities, EK Success Flower Punch

Please make sure to post a link to your card in my comment section so we can all check out your card and I can make sure to enter you in my blog candy drawing for giving it a try.

Smiles,
Jennifer

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Lights and Ribbon Slides!

Have you seen the new ribbon slides recently released by DRS Designs? I'm having so much fun with them! They allow you to get so creative beyond the "normal" uses of ribbon. Take a look at this Jolly Holiday card I made the other night! Gotta love a strand of holiday lights!

This card was tons of fun--a little tedious and took some time to create, but I love the finished product!

My first step in making this card was to stamp the single bulb ribbon slide repeatedly on white cardstock. Next, I colored them all with my Bic Markers and then cut them all out--yes, all 10 of them. I actually made 12 of them, but thought that would be too many once I started planning the layout of my card. (I told you this card was a little tedious! LOL!) Then, I cheated a little. I used my Crop-a-Dile to poke holes in the ribbon slide portion, rather then use scissors to cut them out. This worked well for this project because I used embroidery floss rather than ribbon in the slide portion of each image.

Knowing that I wanted to use majority of the bulbs I made, I knew this would have to be a larger card. I created the card base from green cardstock. The finished card size is 5 3/4" x 5 1/2." I thought the bulbs looked best on a lighter background, so I used yellow for the background rather than red or green, even though this was a holiday card. I matted the yellow cardstock with red cardstock as shown, and stamped "Have a Jolly Holiday!" in the center of my yellow cardstock. I placed a pop-dot on the back of each bulb, and then threaded the embroidery floss through the holes in each bulb. I arranged the bulbs around the sentiment, adhering each one in place before I moved on to the next one.

I then wrapped red grosgrain ribbon around the upper left corner of the card front, and the bottom right corner. I tied a bow and attached over the ribbon as shown.

Most holiday light bulbs are glass right? Well, to finish off this card I added Diamond Glaze over each bulb to give it that shiny, glassy look.

I love this card! I think it's so cute! Hope you like it as well!

• Stamps: All images by DRS Designs- Single Bulb Ribbon Slide, Jolly Holiday Sentiment
• Ink: Versafine Onyx Black
• Paper: Smooth White Cardstock from Office Depot, Colored Cardstock from Bazzill, and Paper Reflections
• Accessories: Bic Markers, Diamond Glaze, DMC Embroidery thread, Crop-a-dile, Pop-dots

Thanks for taking the time to visit my blog today. I appreciate your visit. Won't you leave me a comment to let me know you were here?

Happy Thursday!

Smiles,
Jennifer

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