Butterflies, Butterflies, Butterflies (and Some Flowers)

I am loving me some Butterflies right now...  Well, I love real butterflies all the time but the ones that I am referring to are crafting butterflies...

Lots of butterflies and flowers...

How 'bout the two gorgeous cards above??  I used a faux watercolor technique.  I just simply took a piece of white cardstock (big enough to cover the butterfly die cut), some of my favorite ink colors, a few sponges and blended the inks randomly all over the white cardstock piece.  I then glued the inked piece to the back of my mat, making sure to cover the opening completely.  Then it was just a matter of securing the butterfly die cut back into the hole.  They are both adhered a little differently.  The top one is glued all the way down.  I then added some rhinestones for the body.  You can't really tell it from the picture but the bottom card has TWO die cut butterflies on the card.  There is a yellow one that is glued all the way down and then the top black butterfly is only attached at the center body.  The rest of it flies freely (grins)... I added a button and some baker's twine to the body of this butterfly. 

On to some more fun... Here are the three more projects that I completed...

Well, I hope you enjoyed the projects that I shared with you.  I know I sure enjoyed doing them!  It's a great day when you can spend it doing something that makes you smile...

Now go have a wonderful crafty day!

Bonnie

Adore

I absolutely love how this card turned out in the end!  BUT... let me just tell you that I struggled SEVERAL days with this one!  Do you guys ever do that?  Start out with a general design in mind... or a color scheme in mind?  Then nothing... and I mean NOTHING that you put together seems to make you happy?  I HATE when that happens!  I am going to tell you my little secret to this problem... I just walk away!  Leave the card or scrapbook layout or whatever it is that you are struggling with together as much as you can on the table and just walk away from it.  Glance at it as you go by and see if it looks good to you.  Sometimes I am just too close to the project.  Getting up and moving around will give me a different perspective... helps me see the project differently.

The card that I made looks amazing in real life but the picture just doesn't do it justice.

I have a LOT of others things that I want to share with you, if I can just find the time... And keep a computer alive long enough.  Hopefully, there is a new laptop in my near future!

So that's all for me right now.  Now go have a wonderful crafty day...
Bonnie

Birthday Card using Odorless Mineral Spirits

 

This is the sketch that I used for my inspiration.

I love how the card turned out. The ice cream cones were with a technique using colored pencils and odorless mineral spirits... What FUN that is!!

I hope you enjoy the card.

Now go have a wonderful crafty day!
Bonnie

Blue Bird Christmas

I stamped the image then used water based markers to color it in.  The patterned papers are some older retired paper lines that I had in my stash.  I don't know about you but I have more patterned paper than an army of crafters could use up in a whole lifetime... I'm going to try really hard to start using some of it up!  The sentiment is stamped in the same color marker as the bird and then layered with several different punches!

I hope that you enjoyed today's project!

Now go have a wonderful crafty day!!
Bonnie

Chase Your Dreams

Dreams. Hopes. Wishes.  We all have them but do we really go after what we want?  I think it's too easy to make excuses so we don't have to work harder for what we really want.  Or maybe we think those things are just way too far out of our grasp.  That they only happen to 'those people' (inserting whatever phrase you would typically use here).  But the reality is that you will never know if you can accomplish something if you don't ever try.  We only get one chance at this life thing, people, and we never know when that chance is up.  I'm a true believer in the 'Bucket List' and I don't think that you should wait until there is a tentative time stamp on your life to begin one.  Where does it say that you shouldn't start to check off those things on your bucket list when you are in your 20s?  I sure wish someone would have planted that thought in my head way back in my 20s. 
Now don't get me wrong here...  I'm not suggesting that you shouldn't be grateful for what you have nor for what you are given.  I just want you to stop and think... Is there SOMETHING that you want to chase but are too afraid to take that leap?  I encourage you to take off after that dream... See where it takes you!

This card reminds me of my niece.  She's in her teens now but when she was very little, she would go over to her grandparents' house and chase the butterflies... What a wonderful way to spend the day... In a beautiful flower bed of Lantana standing taller than your head, chasing pretty butterflies...  Thank you, Kelsey, for that awesome memory!

Now go have a wonderful crafty day,
Bonnie

Thanks card

I love how this card turned out!  I just dug into my stash of patterned papers and cardstock and grabbed a couple of stamp sets and there you go!!  We're done!!

I challenge you to go drag out some of your older items in your crafting stash and see what you can come up with!  Be sure and share it with me... I would love to see your work.

Now go have a wonderful crafty day,

Bonnie

Termite Inspection

We survived the termite inspection!  I know that sounds ridiculous but I get pretty stressed out at just the thought of a stranger going through my house with a fine toothed comb... Or rather a bright flashlight!  Looking in all your closets and at your baseboards... Behind the furniture that hasn't been moved in many years... The poor fellow was extremely nice though.  He even remembered inspecting my mom and dad's house last week.  We had a short conversation, as he was getting started, about how much he enjoyed talking with my dad and that he could have stayed there all day talking with him!  Awwww... That just warmed my heart and the rest of the inspection went really smooth!

I wanted to sit down and work on some card challenges tonight but unfortunately, as part of the cleaning up for the termite inspection, I had put away almost all of my tools, paper, etc.  If my knee wasn't giving me a fit, I would just get it all back out.  That's just not going to happen tonight... I can barely even get around.  I'm going to end up having surgery on this knee before it's over with... I keep hoping that I can make it just a littte bit longer.  I don't know... The pain is starting to get unbearable!

I hope all of you had a great start to your week...

Now go have a wonderful crafty day,
Bonnie