from my ink pad to yours: Butterfly Gala

March 18, 2021

Easter Ideas Blog Hop

Today's post is part of an Easter Blog Hop:

I'm featuring a pair of stamp sets, Gift of Hope and Butterfly Gala, today. I've featured them together in the past and now I'm going to show them with some rather simple supplies, yet feature three variations.

All three of these cards use the same cardstock measurements:
8.5" x 5.5" Crumb Cake folded into a 4.25" x 5.5 card base.
3 5/8" x 4 7/8" Crumb Cake Layer for embossing
3 3/4" x 5" Basic White cardstock for layering.
I suggest a 4" x 5 1/4" layer for the inside greeting.
Crumb Cake and White is a very classic combination. Though you can certainly add you coloring medium of choice, white embossing does well all on it's own!
I stamped with White Craft before embossing with white emboss powder. You could also use Versamark but I especially like to use white when I am stamping more than one image since it is easier to see. Sometimes I also think I get a crisper image when I use craft.
I think you could use several of Stampin' Up!s butterfly stamp sets for these cards. I really like the scale and fine detail of Butterfly Gala with this springlike wreath.

I think this is my favorite Easter card layout because it features "He lives" as the focal point.

I think this version would work well for a sympathy OR greeting of encouragement.

This is such a versatile design. I think it could work for Easter, Confirmation or Sympathy, depending on what you use for your inside greeting.

All of these could be somewhat mass produced for a great supply of cards to have on hand. Just add your Stamparatus!

Now it's time to check out some more wonderful ideas. You are at Chris Smith's blog and if you are following in order you move along to see what Susan Elise Schultz has prepared for us.

I so appreciate that you took the time as you visit my blog today. Let me know what you think and come back again soon! Feel free to ask questions if something isn't clear.

Check out the Stampin' Up! catalogs link at the top of my blog. If you don't have regular Stampin' Up Demonstrator and would like hard copies of any of our current catalogs please feel free to email me at [email protected]

I would love to help you with your stamping journey and have you shop with me! You can click on "Shop with Chris Smith" at the top of my blog.

If you place a minimum $50 (US) order using the March host code, JZNC7WQE, I will send you a free gift. US customers only. Customers placing an order smaller than $50 will still receive my thank you card.

If you place a $150 or greater order please don't use the hostess code. You will still receive the gifts but you will also get your own hostess benefits.

SHOPPING LINKS

Posted at 10:59 AM in Butterfly Gala, Gift of Hope | Permalink | Comments (6)

March 01, 2021

Here Comes March with a Spring Colored Trio

I found this week's colors for the Splitcoaststamper's Color Challenge a bit challenging so I started early. I stamped some pieces to color while we sat down to watch a Saturday night movie. Each try proved disappointing. Well, this morning I sat down, determined to make these pieces work. And they turned out so well I still haven't decided which one to post on their site - and it's due in less than an hour...

COLORS:

DESSERT OPTION: Flowers

As I write this it is not yet live but you can find the challenge here.

Here are the cards I came up with:

Here is how I started solving the first problem:

The colored image wasn't doing much for me. I had first used the challenge colors and then gone back and added shading with the watercolor pencils (minus any water).
It always helps to add a border and stripes can help too so I thought I would pull these in with the challenge colors.

oh, and have I ever told you I love gingham ribbon?
I played a little with where to add the greeting, which comes from the Word Wishes/ A Wish for Everything duo.
Please indulge me as I play with some different photo taking and editing techniques...

Since I had much more of the stripe border I decided to my original idea of using the In Bloom Bundle - but I stuck mostly with the dies:

I made a quarter sheet of 1/4" cardstock stripes in the four challenge colors . This proved to be a great way to pull a couple of the cards together
To add a little more texture I added some of the die cut elements in 6"x6" Designer series papers in Just Jade (In Color 20-22) and Balmy Blue (Subtles).
The Tasteful Textiles Embossing Folder has really been a workhorse - it works with so many styles!
2020-2022 In Color Enamel Dots - in Just Jade - give added polish.

Finally, here is another that began with a mistake:

I got a BIG smudge in the middle of this colored garland/wreath after it was colored so I cut it out - while listening to the radio... And then I trimmed a little of the extra rubber off of the "He Lives" stamp that owned the smudge.
More Balmy Blue DSP.
Be Mine Stitched Die gives a subtle but effective scallop detail
Butterfly Gala - colored with Daffodil Delight.
Of course you can tie it up with a Polka Dot Tulle bow. I love the sheer look of these. This card would also look good with no bow if you find that easier to mail.

Would you like to see more? You can check out more of my gallery pages with the gallery link near the top of the right sidebar.

I so appreciate that you took the time as you visit my blog today. Let me know what you think and come back again soon! Feel free to ask questions if something isn't clear.

I would love to help you with your stamping journey and have you shop with me! You can click on "Shop with Chris Smith" at the top of my blog.

If you place a $150 or greater order please don't use the hostess code. You will still receive the gifts but you will also get your own hostess benefits.

SHOPPING LINKS

Product List

Basic White 8 1/2" X 11" Thick Cardstock

2020–2022 In Color 6" X 6" (15.2 X 15.2 Cm) Designer Series Paper

Subtles 6" X 6" (15.2 X 15.2 Cm) Designer Series Paper

Whisper White 5/8" (1.6 Cm) Polka Dot Tulle Ribbon

Flowers For Every Season Ribbon Combo Pack

Daffodil Delight Stampin' Blends Combo Pack

Posted at 11:17 PM in A Wish For Everything, Butterfly Gala, Gift of Hope, In Bloom | Permalink | Comments (2)

April 20, 2020

Noble Peacock Rhinestone Trio

Do you have a cuppa something ready? I've got three cards that I've done over the past year, all featuring the elegant Nobel Peacock Rhinestones.

First let's take a look at another card I did while on the Dirty Girl Design Team last year:

Long story behind this card so skip to the next bullet point if you just want the card hints. I did this card last year when I first tried out the Noble Peacock Rhinestones. The blue butterfly is often used as a symbol for thyroid disease since your thyroid is "somewhat" shaped like a butterfly. A year ago this week I was diagnosed with Graves disease, which means that my immune system got a little carried away and caused my thyroid to produce too much thyroid hormone. That, in turn, made it difficult for me to sleep etc. Luckily my health care provider caught it early. Between a little medication and some lifestyle changes, we got it turned around though it has taken the better part of the past year to get my sleep back to where it was before. That's pretty much why my blogging has been so much less regular. Anyway, that very same week I was asked to join the Dirty Dozen Design Team over on Splitcoaststampers. I'm so grateful I had that design team, along the the Splitcoaststamper Color Challenge Design team to keep me stamping when it would have been very easy to let my creativity slide.
Last June the Dirty Dozen theme called for some bling and I designed this card to meet the challenge, featuring the Noble Peacock Foil and rhinestones. Usually I design cards to be for others, but in this case the card was really for me. Today I look at it differently and, of course, think that it would be a good greeting for just about anyone in our troubled world.
Last June was the first time I did this 90 degree turn technique with the Subtle embossing folder. It shows the best when using the Foil papers, in this case Noble Peacock Foil (#149945 - I forgot this one while making the product list.) All you need to do is run your paper through your embossing tool twice, turning your paper 90 degrees in the folder before running it through the second time.
I cut the petal design out 4 times: once in each color of foil and once in white. Then I paper pieced the various colors into the white "frame".
Once I chose the sentiment I just knew I needed a blue butterfly. (The antennae were stamped with Butterfly Gala, #148580.)
I used a rhinestone in the center of each flower and also on the body of the little butterfly.

This card was done for a color challenge that I hosted a few weeks ago. It called for Pool Party + Pretty Peacock + Rococo Rose with stripes for dessert.
I mixed Pool Party refill with white craft refill and swiped the stripes with a sponge dauber.
The Pretty Peacock border is cut with the border die from the Stitched Be Mine dies.
The beautiful flowered branch is from the Forever Blossoms Bundle. I stamped the branch with Basic Gray and colored it with the color challenge Blends Combos. I cut two extra branches with the corresponding die so that branch is extra solid, almost as thick as a puzzle piece.
One more greeting that is easy to send to anyone these days along with another sprinkling of Noble Peacock Rhinestones, this time just in Pretty Peacock.

Lastly, I have my card for this week's color challenge which has us revisiting a few of last year's In-Colors: Lemon-Lime Twist + Berry Burst + Powder Pink with "thank you" for dessert.
I thought that this pretty Strawberry from Witty-cisms would work perfectly so I embossed the image in white and watercolored with my aquapainter and ink that I picked up from the covers of my ink pads. (squeezing the older style pads before opening them)
I used a couple of punches, the Scalloped Tag Topper and Detailed Trio punch to make the tag with rounded corners.
I thought a basket weave background would make the perfect setting for my strawberry.
Once again, I embellished the card with a few rhinestones, this time the Old Olive stones, which worked beautifully with the Lemon-Lime Twist. Here is a angled view which shows this a little better:

Have you tried these beautiful rhinestones yet? If not, place an April order and I will gladly send you your own package!

I so appreciate your time as you visit my blog. Let me know what you think and come back again soon! Feel free to ask questions if something isn't clear.

***If you don't have a Stampin' Up! demonstrator I would love to help you with your stamping journey and have you shop with me! You can click on "Shop with Chris Smith" at the top of my blog. Clicking on any of the items in the product list below will also bring you to my shop.

Please note that as of today, Stampin' Up! continues to ship product at this time of so many shutdowns. The shipping time may be considerably longer as they make adjustments for the safety of their employees. Please allow extra time for your order to arrive. If time is of the essence, you may also take advantage of their express shipping as you place your order.

Chris

If you place a minimum $50 (US) order using the April host code, TJ6Y3ZQG, I will send you a free gift (Noble Peacock Rhinestones or alternate) that

Product List

Whisper White 8-1/2" X 11" Thick Cardstock

[140272]

Pretty Peacock 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock

[150880]

Scalloped Tag Topper Punch

[133324]

Detailed Trio Punch

[146320]

Stitched Be Mine Dies

[148527]

Tasteful Textures Bundle

[151081]

Butterfly Duet Punch

[148523]

Subtle 3D Embossing Folder

[151775]

Noble Peacock Rhinestones

[149494]

Blueberry Bushel Classic Stampin' Pad

[147138]

Basic Gray Classic Stampin' Pad

[149165]

Versamark Pad

[102283]

White Stampin' Emboss Powder

[109132]

Pool Party Classic Stampin' Ink Refill

[122933]

Sponge Daubers

[133773]

Whisper White Craft Stampin' Ink Refill

[101780]

Forever Blossoms Bundle (English)

[153781]

Forever Blossoms Cling Stamp Set (English)

[151457]

Cherry Blossoms Dies

[151456]

Tasteful Backgrounds Dies

[149545]

Tasteful Textures Cling Stamp Set

[149234]

Witty-Cisms Cling Stamp Set

[151686]

Rococo Rose Stampin' Blends Combo Pack

[149572]

Pool Party Stampin' Blends Markers Combo Pack

[144605]

Whisper White 5/8" (1.6 Cm) Polka Dot Tulle Ribbon

[146912]

Pretty Peacock Stampin' Blends Combo Pack

[149560]

Aqua Painters

[103954]

Mini Glue Dots

[103683]

Sponge Daubers

[133773]

Stampin' Dimensionals

[104430]

Basket Weave 3D Embossing Folder

[151797]

Lemon Lime Twist Classic Stampin' Pad

[144086]

Powder Pink Classic Stampin' Pad

[144084]

Berry Burst Classic Stampin' Pad

[144083]

Posted at 11:16 PM in Butterfly Gala, Forever Blossoms, Tasteful Textures, Witty-cisms | Permalink | Comments (2)

March 21, 2019

Well Said Sympathy Butterflies

Here is another variation of the Butterfly and Blended Backgrounds card I shared last week:

This uses a background I made a few weeks ago when I was playing around with some challenge colors. Both were made by blending dye ink refills with white craft refill. This combination makes it very easy to blend the colors on cardstock with the Sponge Daubers.

The background colors are Night of Navy, Bermuda Bay and Crushed Curry. Whisper White craft ink lightens them a little as they are blended with Sponge daubers on the Whisper White cardstock.
I used a Layering Circles framelit die to cut the circle out of the 4" x 5 1/4" white cardstock.
I sponged Daffodil Delight o my gold embossed Butterfly Gala butterflies.
The greeting is from the Well Words Bundle with the "Sympathy" cut from Coastal Cabana and the "all my" stamped in Coastal Cabana ink. I used a light touch with Dark Pool Party and Light Night of Navy Blends to darken the bottom of the sympathy die cut to look like the background blending.
Metallic Pearls bring the tiniest bit of bling to this expression of sympathy.

The Butterfly Gala Bundle is still not available as I write this but I'm hopeful it will be available soon!

I so appreciate your time as you visit my blog. Let me know what you think and come back again soon.

Chris

If you place a minimum $50 (US) order using the March host code, YDZJFZWA, I will send you the free gift of product that will be featured in my April projects. March orders are also eligible for a free Sale-A-Bration item . US customers only. Customers placing an order smaller than $50 will still receive my March thank you card.

Product List

Butterfly Gala Photopolymer Bundle

[150599]

Well Said Cling Bundle

[150609]

Uninked Stampin’ Craft Pad & Whisper White Refill

[147277]

Crushed Curry Classic Stampin' Ink Refill

[131158]

Bermuda Bay Classic Stampin' Ink Refill

[131156]

Night Of Navy Classic Stampin' Ink Refill

[103033]

Coastal Cabana Classic Stampin' Pad

[147097]

Daffodil Delight Classic Stampin' Pad

[147094]

Pool Party Dark Stampin' Blends Marker

[144594]

Night Of Navy Light Stampin' Blends Marker

[144036]

Whisper White 8-1/2" X 11" Card Stock

[100730]

Pearl Basic Jewels

[144219]

Daffodil Delight Dark Stampin' Blends Marker

[144585]

White Stampin' Emboss Powder

[109132]

Sponge Daubers

[133773]

Heat Tool

[129053]

Layering Circle Framelits Dies

[141705]

Big Shot

[143263]

Posted at 11:31 PM in Butterfly Gala, Well Said | Permalink | Comments (1)

March 13, 2019

Gold Butterflies at the End of My Rainbow

The Paper Players have a Colors of the Rainbow Challenge this week. Just think of the possibilities.

I'm filling in some at where I used to work since one of the nurses has been out ill. That has cut into my stamping time a little so I've been looking for a few shortcuts. I had a background that I had started for another challenge that looked like a rainbow plus a few gold embossed butterflies so that is what I started with. The round window sketch is similar to one that I saw Mindy Eggen share on Instagram back in February. I've been wanting to try it with one of my blended backgrounds which I talked about more on last S aturday's post.

A few hints before I go put my nurse's hat back on:

The colors come from yesterday's color challenge: Night of Navy, Bermuda Bay, Crushed Curry and Poppy Parade. Whisper White craft ink lightens and helps to blend them on the Whisper White cardstock. I shared this technique on a Facebook Live a few weeks ago.
I cut out a 1/2" "frame" of the gold foil to conserve the foil and then decided to use the leftover piece to make a smaller circle to line my white "window".
I used a die to cut the circle out of the white cardstock and the 2" punch to cut the circle out of the gold foil. This was still going to leave a larger gold circle than I had in mind so I attached it in an offset manner so that more gold shows in the lower left where is partially covered by the large butterfly. Less of the gold circle shows in the upper right.
I used markers to color my gold embossed Butterfly Gala butterflies. Flirty Flamingo and Mango Melody were cheerful colors I pulled from the blended background.
The greeting is from the Well Words Bundle with the "Hooray" cut from gold foil and the "for you" stamped in Coastal Cabana ink.
Metallic Pearls bring in one more element of gold.

The Butterfly Duet Punch and Butterfly Gala Bundle are currently unavailable to order but are expected to become available again. Stampin' Up has announced that the punch will carryover into next year's catalog.

I so appreciate your time as you visit my blog. Let me know what you think and come back again soon.

Chris

If you place a $150 or greater order please don't use the hostess code. You will still receive the gifts but you will also get your own hostess benefits.

Product List

Posted at 12:08 PM in Butterfly Gala, Well Said | Permalink | Comments (3)

December 06, 2018

I'm just popping in with a quick post today as I have a few Christmas preparations to take care of in the next few days.

This is one of the cards we did in a recent downline Facebook event. It features the Butterfly Gala Bundle (stamp set plus Butterfly Duet punch) and sequins with adhesive from the upcoming Occasions catalog along with some of the Botanical Butterfly DSP which is one of the Sale-A-Bration freebies during January 3 - March 31. I particularly like that on one side there are colorful butterflies and botanicals and the other side you find a variety of black and white patters.

The "L" shaped border on this card is similar to others I've shown. If you haven't seen it already check out this video on my Facebook page that shows how you can cut 14 of these borders from one piece of 12" x 12" paper.
The butterflies are stamped with Tuxedo Black Memento ink and colored with Mango Melody and Daffodil Delight Blends. The trim paper is Melody Mango.

Whether you are new to papercrafting, someone who crafts with all kinds of products, a Stampin' Up! devotee, or fellow demonstrator, I sincerely thank you for stopping by my little place in the online stamping world. Let me know what you think and come back again soon!

Chris

Posted at 03:05 PM in Butterfly Gala | Permalink | Comments (2)

December 03, 2018

Butterfly Gala a la 2 Challenges

I'm just popping in with a pretty little Butterfly Gala card previewing one of the sets that is part of the Occasions catalog which will premier on January 3rd. It includes 4 different butterfly designs in 2 sizes that can be punched out together with the Butterfly Duet punch.

I used the sketch from this week's Freshly Made Sketches 365:

Today's CAS challenge on Splitcoaststampers also inspired me to try out the pressed wood Butterfly elements which will be a free item during Sale-A-Bration which runs from January 3rd until March 31, 2019. Here is a close up:

Since I knew I would be working with wood tones, I decided to pull out Pool Party and Bermuda Bay to complement brown wood tones. I tried just stamping on colored cardstock but ended up liking the variation in tones that I got by using the dark shades of Pool Party and Bermuda Bay Blends. It turned out that butterflies nestled into the wood butterfly "frames" didn't seem to be enough. What is a butterfly card without the 3-D wings?
I dabbed on a little Early Espresso ink onto the wood elements which come in more of a light natural color.
One last detail - add a linen thread bow!

Whether you are new to papercrafts, someone who crafts with many brands of supplies, a Stampin' Up! devotee, or fellow demonstrator, I sincerely thank you for stopping by my little place in the stamping world. Let me know what you think and come back again soon!

Chris

I would love to have you shop with me!

It's December! If you place a minimum $50 (US) order using the December hostess code, 2APHPF9M, I will send your choice of any catalog item up to $10 in value. US customers only. Customers placing an order smaller than $50 will still receive my special Christmas thank you surprise.

If you place a $150 or greater order please don't use the hostess code. You will still receive the gifts but you will also get your own hostess benefits.

One of the perks of being a demonstrator is that you get to pre-order from future catalogs. Sign up now and you will be able to pre-order from next year's Occasions and Sale-a-Bration catalogs starting December 5th! What a Christmas gift that would be! I'd love to have you join my he'Artstringstamper team.

The Butterfly Gala Bundle will be available to order on December 5th if you are a demonstrator or January 3rd if you are ordering as a customer: #150599. The Butterfly Elements can be ordered as a free item with a purchase of $50 (US) during January 3 - March 31, 2019. Use the order # 149711. Demonstrators can earn Sale-A-Bration items with their December orders.

Product List