Great Spangled Fritillary- I think

The butterfly at the top of this post, was dead when it fluttered next to my daughter's feet. She was fueling her truck up at the gas station when she noticed it. She picked it up and brought it home to me. It is gorgeous with it's little spots of silver on the wing. Wow, what a wonderful creation that God made. I spent a lot of time looking at butterfly images trying to determine what kind of butterfly. I narrowed it down to a couple of choices and my son Joshua and I thought it most resembled the Great Spangled Fritillary butterfly. I really wish I knew an entemologist so I could know for sure. I made two cards using my Mark's Finest Papers butterfly from the set DAFFODIL AND ANISE. I tried to mimic the real thing. I really like how both of these cards turned out. The top card used SC339 sketch and the second one used MOJO197.

Lilly's Card

I made this card for our Pastor's little girl, Lilly. I found out yesterday that she is having an episode of Bell's Palsy. That must be tough for a little 10 year old. When I gave her this card, she tried to smile, but her face wasn't cooperating. I could see it in her eyes though. She gently touched the roses and butterfly, and I could see she was enjoying it. This is also for the Stampin' Sisters In Christ Challenge to have a critter on our card. Of course I had to use my Layers of Color butterfly.

Candy's card

My friend Candy has a birthday tomorrow. I made this card for her. I used my Layers of Color Joyful Noise set. I also made little paper roses.

Sketch Challenge 275

This card was made using the SCS Sketch challenge 275 layout. I cuttlebugged the white panels. I stamped a green flourish for the vine. I added pearls, my paper roses and paper leaves, a bow and a Layers of Color Butterfly. This is also for the Stampin Sister's in Christ Challenge.

CRAZY Butterfly Lady

I finally used the last un-inked butterfly from the layers of color butterfly set. I hadn't figured out how to use this one before. I decided to stamp it on red with versa mark and added gold ep. It had an oriental feeling to me, so I decided make the whole card oriental. The saying is the Chinese character for butterfly. My son after looking at all my cards from the past few months, he said, "Mom you are the Crazy Butterfly Lady!" Perhaps I am. I know I'm crazy for my Layers of Color butterflies. This sketch was from the SCS sketch challenge.

Burlap and Butterfly

I made this for the Inspiration Challenge at SCS and for Our Daily Bread challenge to use cotton. I used little piece of a cotton ball dyed yellow for the centers of my dogwoods. I used a layers of color butterfly to finish my card.

Layers of Color Butterflies

I got this absolutely wonderful butterfly set as a gift from Laura at Layers of Color. Aren't those butterflies fabulous? I feel so blessed. It was the set that she offered as a prize for the Stampin' Sisters In Christ challenge a couple of weeks ago. I loved this set from the minute that I saw them. I know I am going to use this set alot. I used the porcelain paper technique on the butterfly

Butterfly Blessings

I don't think I have ever used this color combo, pink, sage, and gray. When I first saw what the colors were, I thought huh???? weird!!!! But after making the card I kinda like how it turned out. It seems that when I step out of my comfort zone, I hesitate at first but like the results.

Faux Enamel Butterfly

Today was a very stressful day. My job had me on the verge of tears several times. I needed to make a comfort card for me today. I used my favorite colors, and my favorite image... a butterfly. This was for the technique lovers challenge to make a faux enamel embellishment. The color for the butterfly was made using melted crayons. I used my electric skillet lined with foil. I placed my cardstock on the foil. I then drew on the cardstock and the heat melted the crayons. I removed it from the heat and covered it with glue.

This technique made me think of my cousin Alissa and my sister Shari. When we were little and lived in Phoenix AZ, in the heat of summer we would take rocks from our Granny's garden. The rocks would be so hot we would almost burn our hands touching them. We then would draw on the rocks and the crayons would melt making them so colorful. We would cover the rocks with glue to make them shiny.

After the glue was dry on my butterfly I spray painted it with a clear shiny acrylic spray. I glued glass beads for the body and added two thin strips of black cardstock for the antenea.
The base of my card was made using the retiform technique.

Porcelain paper butterflies

Here is my tutorial on how I make my porcelain paper butterflies.

Matterials:
Aleene's Tacky Glue
110 weight Georgia Pacific White Cardstock
Black Stazon Ink
Golden Sun, Crimson Red and Orange Prisma colored pencils
Scissors
Black Cardstock
Butterfly stamp (I used my stampabilites clear stamp butterfly)

Gold Leaf Pen Resist

Had computer problems yesterday, so I am posting my cards for the technique lover challenge. It was to use a gold leaf pen or a silver leaf pen as a resist and then water color or mist over it. I did two. One with silver with the old car and one with gold with the flowers and butterfly.

Hibiscus Happy Birthday

This card was made for the Splitcoast Ways to Use it Challenge. We were to use pleats on a card or project. I decided to make pleated leaves. I used my scallop punch. I pleated using the scallops to help guide my folds. I saw a tutorial on making hibiscus flowers on VALITA'S BLOG. I made one last night and I loved how it turned out, but it was so big I would need a box to mail the card. I decided to put it on a FANTASY BOX. I used some more of my precious, hoarded Wild Saffron paper for the box and for the card. I altered the directions from Valita's because I didn't have the sun punch that she used. I substituted snowflakes. I used my EKsuccess snowflakes on the hibiscus on the box and I used my Stampin UP snowflakes on the one on the card. The centers of the flowers is fringe quilled. I used the marker water coloring technique on the flowers. With these flowers around there had to be a butterfly. I added another of my porcelain paper butterflies to the card.

Quilled Sampler and porcelain paper butterfly

The Splitcoast Stamper Technique Lovers Challenge today was quilling. This is right up my alley. They even used one of my older quilled cards as an example. What an honor. I was so excited. I called this card a Quilling Sampler because it has several different quilling techniques. It has coiled, fringed, punched and quilled flowers. I used a piece of designer cardstock that had flowers on it and I used that as my guide for my flowers. I used the porcelain paper technique on my butterfly. I hope to post some quilling tutorials and the porcelain paper tutorial sometime this week.

Sketch Challenge 236

I made this card for Splitcoast Stampers Sketch challenge 236. I guess I was thinking, and longing for fall. I used fall colors on this card. I took this photo of a flower arrangement from my mother in law several years ago. I had it in a folder for use on a card someday. Today was that someday. I used wrinkle free distress technique on the base of the card. I outlined each panel with black cardstock. I used twine, brads, a metal embellishment and a butterfly to finish the card. The brads and metal embellishment qualify for the stampinb's challenge to use metal on a card.