Simply Sketched

I think I have a newly discovered colouring addiction. I can't seem to get away from it at the moment.
After pulling out several stamp sets with line images I decided on Simple Sketched by SU.
This time I used orange tones for my flower, which is fast becoming a new favourite.

I stamped the leafy berry image onto my background twice, then coloured it. The blossom image was stamped on a scrap piece, coloured, fuzzy cut and attached over the leaves. I glued the bottom to the card front but attached the blossom and bud with foam mounting squares for some added depth.

The little butterfly was also attached with a foam square. I framed the entire thing with a die cut negative I had left over form a previous project, this was also from a mounted.

Supplies used:
Cardstock: Recollections 110 lbs white\
Stamps: Simple Sketched - SU, Butterfly Basics - SU, Papillon Potpourri - SU
Alcohol markers: Old Olive, Skin tine (brown for butterfly body) - SU, Powder Pink (YR00), Light Orange (YR02) Chrome Orange (YR04) - Copic
Ink: Memento - Tuxedo black
Punch: Itty bitty butterfly - SU
Die: Timeless Rectangle - Nestabilities by Spellbinder
Misc.: Foam mounting squares

Thanks for stopping by! Hope to see you again soon.

New alcohol markers

Okay, I'll be honest. I just couldn't resist. As SU hasn't announced that they will be replacing the Blendabilites with new alcohol markers, I broke down and used the 30% off entire purchase Michael's coupon last week and invested in a few colours of Copic Sketch markers.
Of course that means I had to try them our right away as well.

Let me forewarn though, Michaels had a somewhat limited selection on hand (many colours where already sold out). I did my best to try and purchase compatible colours. I was able to find three in the same colour families but not necessarily in the same "saturation" range (I am planning on adding more markers to round out my colours to complete tones/sets). I list the marker used below, but they were not as easy to blend as they would have been if they were all in the correct "saturation" levels.
I do recommend that if you don't already have Copic and are planning on investing in some, try not to do what I did and instead buy correctly matched markers from the start if you can.

However, despite this little issue my cards turned out quite nice (imho).

First up is a pretty pink flower. I decided to stay with my current theme and used the butterflies basics stamp set.

Supplies used:
Cardstock: Recollections 110 Lbs white
Stamps: Butterfly Basics - SU, Simply Sketched - SU. Papillon Potpourri - SU
Ink: Memento - Tuxedo black, Soft Sky - SU
Alcohol markers: Old Olive, Daffodil Delight, Skin Tone - SU, Pale Pink (RV10), Light pink (RV21), Dark Pink (RV34) - Copic
Punch: Bitty Butterfly
Misc.: foam mounting squares, 5/8" pink organza ribbon, pink sequins (Dollarama)

Second is a card in hues of purple, same stamp set.

Supplies used:
Cardstock: Recollections 110 Lbs white
Stamps: Butterfly Basics - SU, A Word for You - SU
Ink: Memento - Tuxedo black, Hello Honey, Elegant Eggplant, Basic Gray - SU
Alcohol markers: Old Olive, Daffodil Delight - SU, Lilac (V04), Violet (V09), Mallow V15) - Copic
Punch: Bitty Butterfly
Misc.:  5/8" purple/plum organza ribbon, gold sequins (Dollarama)

Thanks for stopping by! Hope to see you again soon.

Butterfly Basics

Colouring is still new to me. I have always shied away from outline stamps as the prospect of colouring the image seemed rather daunting and intimidating to me. I therefore almost always purchased solid stamps allowing me to use coloured ink and not having to worry about mastering any colouring and shading techniques. I still like those kind of stamps (like the SU Lotus Blossom), but as some of you know have recently started to colour with alcohol markers. Now I am still very much afraid to attempt an image of a person or animal and am definitely nowhere near mastering this skill but I think I am starting to get the hang of basic flowers and butterflies.

The Butterfly basics set has a perfect flower image for colouring. I would love to do this one in pink or purple, but alas I do not yet own those colours and it looks like I will have to venture into a different brand of alcohol markers as SU no longer makes their Blendabilities. So, for now, red will have to do for now.

I do have to say that the Cherry Cobbler Blendabilities are my favorites. For some reason they seem to blend better and go on the paper smoother than the other colours I have.

I coloured my butterflies to match the red flower, much like my previous card, tones of yellow, orange and red.



Supplies used:

Cardstock: Recollections 110 lbs white
Stamp: Butterfly Basics - SU, Papillon Potpourri - SU
Ink: Memento Black
Alcohol markers: SU Blendabilities - Cherry Cobbler, Daffodil Delight, Old Olive, Skintone
Punches: Bitty Butterfly - SU, Elegant Butterfly - SU
Misc.: 1/4" rust satin ribbon, foam mounting squares.

Thanks for stopping by! Hope to see you again soon.

Butterfly Garden

Yes, I have more butterflies to share. These were again coloured with Blendabilities.
This time I chose more vibrant yellow, gold and orange tones.

I have to say this is one of my favourites so far. I used the new Butterfly Basics stamps for the background and sentiment. The fern was inked once and then stamped twice then repeated to create two bold coloured and 2 faded ferns.
The butterfly wings were coloured with just yellow and red markers. By overlapping the two colours the orange was created.

The butterflies were attached with foam mounting squares for a little extra depth.

Supplies used:
Cardstock: Recollection white
Stamps: Butterfly Basics - SU, Papillon Potpourri - SU
Ink: Memento - Tuxedo Black, SU - Crushed Curry, Pear Pizzazz,
Alcohol markers: Blendabilities - Cherry Cobbler, Daffodil Delight, Skin Tone (brown for butterfly body)
Punches: Bitty Butterfly - SU, Elegant Butterfly - SU
Misc.: orange baker's twine, gold sequins, foam mounting squares.

Thanks for stopping by! Hope to see you again soon.

Pastel Butterflies

These lovely pastel butterflies were coloured with Blendabilities. I layered and blended several different colours as I do not currently own any pink alcohol markers.

To achieve a somewhat "pink" tone I layered and blended several of the skin tone shades with a bit of red and yellow and the blender pen. The colour turned out okay but I am seriously contemplating investing in some other alcohol markers to get the shades/colours I am currently missing.
I also coloured my pearls with the "pinkish" skin tone and the soft sky Blendabilities markers.

Supplies used:
Cardstock: Recollections white
Stamps: Papillon Potpourri - SU, Work of Art - SU, Gorgeous Grunge - SU
Ink: SU - Blushing Bride, Calypso Coral, Soft Sky, So Saffron, Memento Tuxedo Black
Markers: SU Blendabilites - Skin Tone, Soft Sky, Daffodil Delight, Cherry Cobbler
Punches: Bitty Butterfly - SU, Elegant Butterfly - SU
Misc.: foam mounting square, 1/8" pearls.

Thanks for stopping by! Hope to see you again soon.

Pretty Butterfly

I think I may be developing an addition to butterflies. I cannot seem to get away form them.
My next view cards all seem to have at least one colourful "flutterby."

I only have a few Blendabilities markers, so am somewhat limited in colour choices at the moment. I therefore attempted to watercolour my butterfly and flowers.

As you can see the results are somewhat mixed. I love the purple and blue combination and the butterfly turned out ok, but am not too happy with the flowers. The colour was at one point too intense that I opted to tone it down a little with a white chalk maker. Not sure if I succeeded though.Over all the card is still pretty though so I thought I'd share it. It's also the first time I used these border stamps and I haven't seen too many creations with them yet.

Supplies used:
Cardstock: Recollections white
Stamps: Papillon Potpourri - SU, Bordering Blooms - SU, Butterfly Basics - SU, Gorgeous  Grunge- SU
Ink: SU - Rich Razzleberry, Pacific Point, Mossy Meadow , Memento Tuxedo Black
Misc.: foam mounting squares, white chalk marker, pearls.

Thanks for stopping by! Hope to see you again soon.

Delicate Butterflies

I kept this card very simple in basic white with just a touch if pearls to showcase the intricate lacy design of the butterfly dies.

I trimmed my card front layer to 4 x 5.25" and cut the large butterfly form the center. I embossed the card with flowers on one side and attached it to my card base with foam squares. I then layers the medium butterfly over the large, folded the wings up slightly and attached the body to the center of the negative/cut out butterfly on my card front. I also added 4 pearls to the butterfly body.

Supplies used:
Cardstock: Recollections
Die: Butterfly Thinlits - SU
Embossing folder: Flowering Spring - Mpress
Misc.: 4 x 1/4" pearls, foam mounting squares

Butterfly Framelits

I love the Butterfly Framlits from SU. When I first saw them I knew I had to have them. I ordered them, got my package and set them aside. I used them once on my spring basket and then forgot about them.

I decided it was high time I put them to good use, especially as I need to be able to justify buying the new coordinating dies in the upcoming catty.

So I made a few cards this week. Here is my first card featuring these lovely dies.

I trimmed 2 pieces of white card to 4" x 5.25" and cut the large butterfly from the center of one.
I then coloured the butterfly die cut piece with my SU markers (Chocolate Chip and Cherry Cobbler),  sprayed it with pearl glimmer mist and set it aside to dry.

I then took my second piece of cut card and watercolored it with Tangelo Tango and Hello Honey.
I also sprayed it with a bit of the pearl shimmer mist and set it aside to dry.

Once both where dry I glued the negative butterfly cut cardstock on top of the watercoloured piece and then glued the coloured die back into the opening.
I mounted it on my card front with foam for a little dimension.

My sentiment was stamped with StazOn black on glitter vellum.

Supplies used:
Cardstock: Recollections
Ink: StazOn black, SU - Tangelos Tango, Hello Honey
Markers: SU - Chocolate Chip, Cherry Cobbles
Stamp: Wonderful Words - SU
Die: Butterflies Thinlits - SU
Punch: 1" square (to make banner tail)
Misc.: scrap of vellum, 5/8" wine coloured organza ribbon, gold sequins, foam mounting squares, pearl shimmer mist

Tropical Bloom

This is my last creation (at least for now) using the mustache die. A vibrant (fantasy) tropical flower.

To me this card, with it's vibrant colours, screams cheerfulness. It's perfect to brighten someone's day.

For the first time i sued an embossing mask (I've had the masks for over a year). I stamped the star-burst and then embossed the background using the mask to leave the star-burst area flat. I added die cut flourishes to the flower, but it looks great without them as well.

Supplies used:

Cardstock: Bazzill, Recollections (white)

Stamp: Kinda Eclectic - SU

Ink: Crushed Curry, Hello Honey, Real Red, Cherry Cobbler, Cajun Craze, Mossy Meadows - all SU

Dies: Hello Thinlits - SU, Elegant Flourishes - Tim Holtz

Embossing folder: Lacy broaden - SU, Circle Mask - Tim Holtz

Misc.: foam mounting squares, white gel pen. 

Full punch art instructions below.

Thanks for stopping!, Hope to see you again soon.

Happy Octopus

I am very excited to share this adorable little critter made with the mustache die.

He is very versatility, just change his little greeting flag to match any occasion. And you wont believe how simple he is to make, just 1 die and 2 punches (if you use google eyes or draw the eyes, only 1 punch).

I created both the water and sand backgrounds by sponging the cardstock with matching ink and then finished them off with the small speckle stamp from Gorgeous Grunge (white for the water and Crumb Cake for the sand)

Supplies used:
Cardstock: Bazzill, Recollections
Stamp: Banner Greetings - SU, Gorgeous Grunge - SU
Ink: Marina Mist - SU, Calypso Coral  SU, Mossy Meadow - SU, Sahara Sand - SU, Crumb Cake - SU, White Craft ink - SU
For punch art see below instructions (sea weed - Mustache die - SU)
Misc.: various sizes of pearls for the bubbles, toothpick, silver cording, foam mounting squares, black marker, red/rose chalk

Full punch art instructions below.

Thanks for stopping by! Hope to see you again soon for one more mustache creation.

Angel tag

I have one more Christmas themed creation using the mustache die. A sweet little angel with "mustache" wings.

She's really simple to make and just too cute.

Supplies used:

Cardstock: Bazzill, scrap of silver foil

Ink: Real Red - SU, Crushed Curry - SU

Embossing folder: Lucky Stars - SU

Dies: Two Tags - SU, 

Punches: Round Tab - SU, (for punch art see below instructions)

Misc.: 5/8" red organza ribbon, foam mounting squares, white gel pen, black marker, red/rose chalk

Full punch art instructions below:

Thanks for stopping by! Hope to see you again soon for a couple more mustache creations.

Mustache Santa tag

Today I have another Christmas themed mustache creation to share with you. This time I made a little cute Santa gift tag.

You could easily alter this design a little and turn Santa into a gnome. Maybe even use the hat for a smurf (and beard for Papa Smurf)

Supplies used:

Cardstock: Bazzill

Ink: Real Red - SU, Crushed Curry - SU, Tuxedo Black - Memento

Stamp: Holiday Homes - SU

Embossing folder: Lucky Stars - SU

Dies: Two Tags - SU, Bitty Banners - SU

Punches: Round Tab - SU, Itty Bitty Accents Star - SU (for punch art see below instructions)

Misc.: 5/8" red organza ribbon, foam mounting squares, white gel pen, black marker, red/rose chalk

Full punch art instructions below:

Thanks for stopping by! Hope to see you again soon.

Elf Shoe Card

Let's move on to some fun Christmas creations using the mustache die. Today I have these adorable  elf shoes.

These are so fun and would work well for a "let's dance" or party themed cards as well. 

I decided to add tiny little ribbon bows made from 1/8" wide ribbon to the shoes but they look just as cute without them.

Supplies used:

Cardstock: Bazzill, Recollections

Patterned Paper: Very Old Sizzix stack

Ink: Mossy Meadow - SU, Crushed Curry - SU, Memento Tuxedo Black, Real red Marker - SU

Stamp: Joyful Christmas - SU

Die: Timeless Rectangle - Nestabilities - Spellbinder

Punches: see below punch art instructions

Misc.: white gel pen, 1/8" green satin ribbon, 1 x 3/16" rhinestone, foam mounting squares

Full punch art instructions below:

Thanks for stopping by! Hope to see you again soon for more mustache creations.

Witchy Birthday

This is a delightful birthday card that would also make a cute Halloween card or tag; and as promised was made using the mustache die.

I chose to decorate the cute witch shoes with silver buckles, but little ribbon bows (maybe in purple) would look just as good.

Supplies used:
Cardstock: Bazzill, Recollections
Ink: Cajun Craze - SU, Real Red Marker - SU
Font: Arabic Typesetting, Freestyle Script
Die: Timeless Rectangle - Nestabilities - Spellbinder
Punch: Decorative label - SU, for punch art see below instructions
Misc.: 5/8" black organza ribbon, 3 x 1/16" rhinestones, white gel pen, foam mounting squares

Full punch art instructions are below:

Thanks for stopping by! Come back soon for more cute mustache die creations.

Mustache Witches Hat

Continuing with my "off" season theme of Halloween, I have another mustache punch art to share. A cute little witch's hat.

I created a little buckle from silver foil, but you could easily just have the hat band, or even add a bow id you don't have the little square punches. Another option would be to hand cut the buckle.

Supplies used:
Cardstock: Bazzill, Recollections
Stamp: Party Punch - SU
Ink: Cajun Craze - SU, Perfect Plum - SU, Crushed Curry - SU, Basic Black marker - SU
Die: Two Tags - SU, Mustache - SU
Punches: Itty Bitty Accents (star) - SU, Round Tab - SU, 2" circle - SU, for punch art see below instructions.
Embossing folder: Lucky Stars - SU
Misc.: foam mounting squares, white gel pen, 1/4" orange ribbon, scrap of silver foil card

Punch art instructions below:

Thanks for stopping by! Hope to see you again soon for more mustache creations.

Mustache Ghost

Today's mustache art is so simple it doesn't require any cutting.
When I looked at the mustache die on a slight angle I immediately saw the shape of a cute little ghost.
It's so simple it feels like cheating.

Supplies used:
Cardstock: Recollections and Bazzill
Stamp: Toxic Treat - SU
Ink: Rich Razzleberry - SU, Soft Sky - SU, Crushed Curry - SU, Memento Tuxedo Black,
Punches: Round Tab - SU, Itty Bitty Accents (star) - SU, 3/4" circle and 2" circle
Die: Two Tags - SU, Mustache die - SU
Embossing Folder: Lucky Stars - SU
Misc.: Black marker, white gel pen, 5/8" green ribbon, staple, red & white bakers twine, foam mounting squares

Thanks for stopping by! Hope to see you again soon for more fun "mustache" punch art.

Jester Hat Card

I recently purchased the mustache die from SU. Shortly after SU released their retiring list and what do you know, this little die is listed. I thought I better share what I have made with it before it's gone and some of you don't have the chance to get your own anymore.

So my next few posts will all feature the mustache die. Please excuse that some themes of my creations will be a little out of season.

First up, my fun Jester Hat; perfect for any party (also works well for New Years).

Supplies used:

Cardstock: Bazzill and Recollections

Ink: Cherry Cobbler - SU, Night of Navy - SU, Crushed Curry - SU, Versamark

Stamps: Let Your Hair Down - SU, Gorgeous Grunge - SU

Die: Oval Framelits - SU

Misc.: white embossing powder, white gel pen, foam mounting squares, 3 x 1/4" rhinestones, 5/8" gold grosgrain ribbon.

Punch art instructions below.

Thanks for stopping by! Come back soon for more "mustache' creations.

Rose Gift Bags

Last but not least, I have 2 larger gifts for my daughter that would never fit into any boxes I can make myself. I therefore opted to use solid black gift bags and decorate them to match my Goth inspired birthday set.
I attached the decorated doily with temporary adhesive, so the decor can be removed without damaging the bag (although knowing my daughter she will keep them intact as they are).

I made a large bag, (9 x 13'):

 and here are some close ups:

and a made a smaller/medium sized one (approx. 7" x 9"):

and some close ups:

I used 3 punches to make the flowers, my largest used the Fancy Flower punch, the medium roses the Pansy punch and the smallest the Petite Petals. All the roses use the same basic technique, instructions can be found in this post.

I have one last photo to share, the complete set.

Supplies used:
Cardstock: Recollections
Stamps: Because you care - SU, Label Love - SU
Punches:Fancy Flower - SU, Pansy - SU, Petite Petals - SU, Blossom Petal
Misc.: paper doilies (8" and 5" - mine are from the dollar store), Pearls, gold shimmer mist, 5/8" black grosgrain ribbon and 1.5" black ribbon.

Thanks for stopping by! Hope to see you again soon for some "mustache" inspired punch art.