Floral Birthday

A friend of mine is celebrating her birthday this weekend, so I made her this card. I used a new-to-me die, "Peacock Backdrop" by Kat Scrappiness, for the background. I'm entering this card in Die Cut Divas' "Something New" challenge.

I began by cutting a piece of Strathmore Smooth Bristol paper to slightly larger than 4.25x5.5". I ink blended Dried Marigold Distress ink, creating an ombre effect by adding more ink towards the bottom and fading as I went up the panel. Then I die cut it with the "Peacock Backdrop" die.

I stamped 3 flowers & leaves, using My Favorite Things' "Watercolor Flowers" set (discontinued). Because the coordinating dies for this layering stamp set are solid, rather than just the outline, I had to die cut first, then stamp. When I stamped, I just backed the negative portion of the cardstock I'd die cut from with Frog tape, placed it into my MISTI stamp positioner, & popped the die cuts in the openings where the tape was to hold them in place. For the yellow flowers, I used Memento Dandelion, Hero Arts Butter Bar, & Simon Says Stamp Sunshine inks. For the pink, I stamped with Lawn Fawn Ballet Slippers, Hero Arts Bubble Gum, & Lawn Fawn Wild Rose. I used Altenew Forest Glades & Hero Arts Forever Green for the leaves. I also used Hero Arts Cup o' Joe ink for the flower centers.

For the greeting, I used the "Script Birthdays" stamp set from Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps. I stamped the "birthday" word on a strip of navy cardstock with Versamark ink, and heat embossed with Ranger Super Fine Detail White embossing powder. Then I repeated the process with the "happy" stamp. It actually took me a few tries to get the "happy" straight, but I finally managed!

I cut another strip of navy cardstock to run vertically on my background. I also cut two 1/8" wide strips and a 3/8" wide strip of a light blue shimmer cardstock. I glued the narrower strips to my background, spacing them so they would run along either side of the horizontal strip. I adhered my 3/8" strip to the navy, adhered that to my background over the narrow strips, & finally glued my greeting strip in place. I used liquid glue to stick the flowers to the card front. Finally, I glued my panel in place on a white A2 card base.

I'm also entering this card in 613 Avenue Create's "Anything Goes" challenge #217.

Sending Big Hugs

I created this card to send to a child affected by the devastating Camp Fire that happened in California late last year. I learned on Jennifer McGuire's blog that Christina Brashears is collecting interactive cards for these children through January 31, 2019. The idea is that teachers can then distribute these playful creations to children in grades K-5 to help lift their spirits when life gets overwhelming--or any other time, for that matter. To that end, I made this butterfly penny slider card, inspired by the challenge photo for Fusion's 5th Anniversary Challenge:

I have not done many penny slider cards in my time. Mostly because (possibly due to my Scottish ancestry) the idea of using a penny in a card--where it will not be used financially--bothers me. LOL I even tried washers (think hardware, not clothes or dishes)--which do work--but realized that they cost even more than a penny apiece! So much for frugality. LOL But for such a special cause, I made the sacrifice with this card! ;)

I began with my main butterfly, which comes from the "Elegant Butterflies" set  by Clearly Besotted (apparently discontinued). I stamped it in Versamark ink onto a scrap of Strathmore Smooth Bristol paper, and heat embossed with Stampendous Marcasite powder. This particular embossing powder melts to a dark grey/pewter finish, with bits of glitter. I figured it's perfect for a butterfly! I colored it with a few pink & purple Zig Clean Color Real Brush markers, and die cut it with the coordinating die.

For the background, I cut a piece of 140 lb. watercolor paper to 4.25x5.5". I wasn't sure if I wanted to keep it a full A2 size or have it be smaller. But, I figured I could always cut it down later if I wanted to--you can't add to as easily as take from. I stamped some more of the butterflies from "Elegant Butterflies" in Mermaid Lagoon & Candied Apple Distress Oxide inks, creating an overall pattern. After I felt I had stamped enough butterflies, I inked over the panel with Picked Raspberry & Peacock Feathers Oxide inks. I liked the teal & purple tones in the inspiration graphic, and figured these particular colors would be perfect. It also allowed the stamped butterflies to show through a bit darker to add interest, but still be a subtle overall background. After I finished inking, I did trim the panel slightly to 4x5.25", since I knew then I would be adding lots of foam tape, and didn't want it to be too hard to get the card in & out of an envelope.

To create the slider channel, I used a die to trace out the general path on the back of my panel. I then widened & strengthened my lines with a flexible ruler & pencil. I used an old Basic Grey Notch & Die tool to punch the rounded ends, and cut between those notches with a craft knife. Then I stamped my greeting, from Simon Says Stamp's "Jumbo Stripes" set, in Versamark, and heat embossed with Ranger Super Fine Detail White embossing powder.

I added 3 layers of foam tape to the back of my panel, making sure to leave the area around my slider channel free of tape so the penny could move. I got the 3-layer tip from Kelly Marie Alvarez (owner of Lawn Fawn), since it helps the penny move even more freely. I added 3 layers of foam tape to my penny, slipped it under the track, and adhered my butterfly on top. Unfortunately, I had made the track a little too wide (despite measuring against the penny to begin with), and the penny tended to fall out. :( So I ended up cutting a 1" diameter circle from some lightweight clear plastic, and adhered the penny to that with a little Scor Tape. I also replaced the foam tape strips on the penny (which kept getting hung up on the track & just weren't working) with 2 layers of small foam squares. I reinserted my penny into the track, and reattached my butterfly. Now it works!

I'm also entering this card in Pile It On's Challenge #150: "Land and/or Sea Animals."