Special friends birthday butterflies

Two dear friends recently reached one of those 'very special' birthdays only a week apart. Since both lovelies are also cardmakers, they appreciate the love that goes into our projects so I wanted to make their cards super special. I chose a butterfly theme because you know I LOVE butterflies & was also desperate to try my new set of butterfly dies. (eeeeeep!) I intended to make 2 totally different cards but I loved the first one so much that I stayed with the same look for the second. This is what I made.

I started with the gorgeous Swallowtail butterfly stamp which I masked to add a soft text background (Dictionary). Then I decided the wing needed to go over the cotton ribbon on the left so I stamped another butterfly, cut it out & popped it on dimensionals. I added bea-u-tiful vellum & soft sky cut butterflies then a Swallowtail body & some pearls. The birthday sentiment from the coordinating Butterfly Basics stamp set coordinated perfectly.

I coordinated the inside with another butterfly & matching sentiments... & a number reminder (wink).

 

The finished front is a larger than normal card (approx 6 x 5-1/2 inches from memory) so I made a custom DSP envie with my Envelope Punch Board (of course).  Here it is with the pressie - also decorated with some more gorgeous butterflies & seam binding ribbon.

This card was the first version I made. As you can see, the butterfly is less angled, doesn't have the second popped layer, & the ribbons run horizontally. Otherwise, it's very similar. The butterfly ink colour is marina mist on this one.

I think that's all for now. Check out the supply list below to see exactly what I used, leave me a comment if  you'd like more info. Of course I'd love you to pin it, like or share the post if you liked the cards too. Until next time,

Inky wishes, Di

Print Product List

Product List
To see & order any items used in today's project, just click on the items below to see them in my Online Store. You can order from me if you live anywhere in Australia. I would love to be your Demonstrator if you don't already have one. Please allow "Demonstrator contact" in your preferences so I can thank you properly when you place your order.

Swallowtail Clear Stamp Set	Dictionary Clear-Mount Stamp Set	Butterfly Basics Photopolymer Bundle	Island Indigo 1/4" Cotton Ribbon
Pearl Basic Jewels Embellishments	Card Stock A4 Soft Sky	Crumb Cake A4 Card Stock	Whisper White A4 Card Stock
Island Indigo Classic Stampin' Pad	Crumb Cake Classic Stampin' Pad	Stamping Sponges

JAI 250 inspiration challenge - Tea for two valentine

This week's challenge at Just Add Ink is to create a project inspired by this sweet & yummy image.

I immediately thought that my husband & I are always making cups of tea for each other so I decided to made a card for him. Please promise you won't show him this post as he won't receive the card until Valentine's day tomorrow... Shhh! ;-) This is what I made.

You could easily change out the sentiment for a birthday, friendship or many other occasions.
Did you work out that the cups are made with my fave Curvy Keepsake die? I'm not sure who came up with this gem of an idea but I saw Vicky Hayes' card & pinned it away for later. Thanks Vicky!
If you'd like to make your own cup, this pic shows you how. Just cut, then adhere the handle behind the cup side & that's it!

I made the pink cup into a shaker using our shaker frames & filled with hearts from the confetti heart punch.  The happy together die cut & stamped sentiment is from the aptly named Crazy for You stamp & die bundle (I have the photopolymer bundle, but it's also available in wood or cling mount). I've used this bundle for 3 of the past 4 challenges so it's clearly a fave of mine. You can see all the supplies I used, below.

Want more? The JAI Design Team have used the inspiration pic in lots of different ways so remember to check out all our creations on the  Just Add Ink blog. Even better, we'd love to see you try the challenge too.

Leave me a comment if you have any questions about my card or if you just liked my idea. I love hearing from visitors. Remember to like, share &/or pin it too if you'd like to save it for later.
Until next time, inky wishes
Di

Product List
To see & order any items used in today's project, just click on the items below to see them in my Online Store. You can order from me if you live anywhere in Australia. I would love to be your Demonstrator if you don't already have one. Please allow "Demonstrator contact" in your preferences so I can thank you properly when you place your order.    
View/print supply list

Curvy Keepsake Box Thinlits Dies	Sweetheart Punch	Confetti Hearts Border Punch	Crazy About You Photopolymer Bundle
Banner Punch	Lullaby Designer Series Paper	Shaker Frames	Window Sheets Base Material
Pink Pirouette A4 Card Stock	Crumb Cake A4 Card Stock	Card Stock A4 Coastal Cabana	Melon Mambo A4 Card Stock
Whisper White A4 Card Stock	White Vellum A4 Card Stock	Pink Pirouette Classic Stampin' Pad	Crumb Cake Classic Stampin' Pad
Soft Suede Classic Stampin' Pad	Stamping Sponges

JAI 249 sketch challenge - masculine birthday

Hi there. Today I'm sharing a clean & simple masculine birthday card with you. This is my design team creation for Just Add Ink challenge 249, using this cool sketch.

I've been sick this week with a cold (what's with getting a cold in summer?!) but I really wanted to try the sketch so finally got to it yesterday. I thought it would work well as a masculine card so I went with that idea - everyone needs easy masculine cards, right?

I've stretched the sketch a bit & totally didn't notice the line going across it on my tiny printout, but I'm sure you'll see the main sketch elements. I was very literal with the hexagons but hey, I like hexagons :-) The main elements are the hexagon hive die panels - love that die. I liked how the Park Lane dsp looks peeking through the hexagons. The hexagon frame is mounted on navy give a border & more clean lines, then a crumb cake base. I think this works well as a masculine card - clean geometric lines, shapes & no fuss - easy!

I hope you liked my take on the sketch challenge. Check out the other DT creations & join the fun by trying the challenge yourself.
Leave me comment if you have any q's about the card or if you just want to say hi. I love hearing from you. Until next time.

Inky wishes, Di

Print Recipe

Product List
To see & order any items used in today's project, just click on the items below to see them in my Online Store. You can order from me if you live anywhere in Australia. I would love to be your Demonstrator if you don't already have one. Please allow "Demonstrator contact" in your preferences so I can thank you properly when you place your order. 

Hexagon Hive Thinlits Die	Crazy About You Photopolymer Bundle	Park Lane Designer Series Paper	Banner Punch
Crumb Cake A4 Card Stock	Night Of Navy A4 Card Stock	Whisper White A4 Card Stock	Night Of Navy Classic Stampin' Pad

JAI 248 colour challenge - Balloon bash birthday

 This week's challenge at Just add ink is a fun colour challenge using these colours.

 

It's an interesting combo that works for either guys or girls I think. I've never used them together until now but I think they played together nicely. This is what I came up with:

The fun sentiment is from the new Balloon Bash set, stamped in navy & razzleberry. I made my own striped background DSP in the challenge colours using the brush tip end of my Stampin' Write markers. It's far from perfect but I think it works well with the handwritten look of the sentiment font. The panel is attached to the front of a z-fold card base (always tricky to photograph). You can see it better here.

I repeated the stripe on the inside of the card & added a sentiment in a coordinating font (Age Awareness set).

 

I think this card could work for lots of people - girls, guys, teens. What do you think?
Thanks for visiting & do have a go playing along with the challenge. Would love to see what you create. Until next time,
Inky wishes, Di

Product List 
To see & order any items used in today's project, just click on the items below to see them in my Online Store. You can order from me if you live anywhere in Australia. I would love to be your Demonstrator if you don't already have one. Please allow "Demonstrator contact" in your preferences so I can thank you properly when you place your order.   

Balloon Bash Photopolymer Stamp Set	Age Awareness Photopolymer Stamp Set	Pool Party A4 Card Stock	Night Of Navy A4 Card Stock
Sahara Sand A4 Card Stock	Whisper White A4 Card Stock	Pool Party Stampin' Write Marker	Night Of Navy Stampin' Write Marker
Rich Razzleberry Stampin' Write Marker	Neutrals Stampin' Write Marker	Night Of Navy Classic Stampin' Pad	Rich Razzlebberry Classic Stampin' Pad