Dragonfly Sympathy

I made this card for Prickley Pear's February sketch challenge.  I am trying to build up a stash of cards and find that sympathy cards are the ones I need quickly and don't usually have on hand so I'm starting there.  I used Prickley Pear's Dragonflies stamp and die set and My Mind's Eye's Miss Caroline - Fiddlesticks papers.  The sentiment, card stock and ribbon are all from Papertrey Ink.

I like to use dragonflies on sympathy cards and include the Legend of the Dragonfly on the inside.  Here it is if you're not familiar with it:

The Legend of the Dragonfly

In the bottom of an old pond lived some grubs who could not understand why none of their groups ever came back after crawling up the stems of the lilies to the top of the water. They promised each other that the next one who was called to make the upward climb would return and tell what happened to him. Soon one of them felt an urgent impulse to seek the surface; he rested himself on the top of a lily pad and went through a glorious transformation, which made him a dragonfly with beautiful wings. In vain, he tried to keep his promise. Flying back and forth over the pond, he peered down at his friends below. Then he realized that even if they could see him they would not recognize such a radiant creature as one of their number.

The fact that we cannot see our friends or communicate with them after the transformation, which we call death, is no proof that they cease to exist.

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You're Fintastic!

I made this card for this week's Pals Paper Arts PPA129 sketch challenge.  The fish image and sentiment are from Gina K. Designs Best Fishes set and the rope border image is from Waltzingmouse Stamps.  The patterned papers are from Graphic 45's Tropical Travelogue collection.

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Berry Sweet of You!

I have a cute little thank you card to show you today.  The main image is from My Favorite Things' Pure Innocence Berry Sweet set. It was colored using Copic markers and her dress was paper pieced.  The patterned papers are from October Afternoon's Fly a Kite collection and the mat layer was made using an Oval Decorative Doily die. The border strips on the horizontal layer were made using the Faux Crochet Border die.

For the inside, I created the sentiment combination using the Layered Label Die set with scraps of the patterned papers from the card front.  I paired it with a Spellbinder's Grommet Tags die and added a couple of red Swarovski crystals.  My card fits for this week's Crazy 4 Challenges C4C124 challenge, which is to use stripes and polka dots.  It also fits for this week's sketch challenge (MFTWSC60) over at My Favorite Things.

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Happy Valentine's Day!

Happy Valentine's Day! Here are a couple of Valentine's Day cards I whipped up this past weekend.

Hope you had a lovely Valentine's Day!

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You're on my mind (JUGS123)

Greetings!  I found some time this weekend to make a few cards and decided to play along with this week's challenge over at Just Us Girls (JUGS123).  The challenge is to use images with button centers - right up my alley! 

The bunch of flowers is from Papertrey Ink's Everyday Button Bits set and it's paired up with some of my favorite Italian paper.  The sentiment is from Blooming Button Bits.  Simple and fun to bring a little cheer to a friend!

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Quilt Thank You

Greetings!  Remember me??  Forgive me, for I have sinned....it has been over a month since my last blog post!  Sorry for the drought - things have been busy around here and card making and blog posting time have been limited.

Shortly before Christmas we adopted a new kitty and that kept us busy for a few weeks.  My sister-in-law made a fabulous quilt for the cats for Christmas, and you can see from the photo below that it has been well-received by our new little ball of fluff, Caicos!

Of course, a thank you card was in order for this exceptional gift, so I decided to mimic the quilt on the card.  I used several patterned papers, including BoBunny Zoology.  The Thank You sentiment is from Papertrey Ink and the sleeping kitty image is from Stampendous.

This is a perfect example of why I love card making so much - being able to customize them for the person and occasion!

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RI Sketch Challenge - Thanks So Much Scrimshaw

There is a new sketch challenge starting over at The House That Samps Built!  For my sample card, I used Sailboat (2704-H), which I stamped on ivory paper with Versafine Onyx Black ink and sponged using Distress Ink (Antique Linen) to make it resemble scrimshaw.  The patterned papers are from October Afternoon's Seaside collection.  The sentiment is Thanks so Much (8607-D) from Quartet Complements and I used some string to tie a square knot, in keeping with the nautical theme!

Please head on over to The House That Stamps Built to get the rules for playing along with the challenge and to see the wonderful cards the rest of the team has made using the sketch!

This is my last posting for the Repeat Impressions design team.  I have some big projects going on at work and have decided that it's best if I take a break from design team assignments for a while.  I hope you'll continue to visit! 

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RI SOTW - Celebration Burst

There is a new stamp of the week over at The House That Stamps Built and this week's image, Celebration Burst (3808-I) is perfect for New Year's or other celebrations! I stamped it repeatedly on white cardstock to make my background paper and then colored it using Spica glitter pens in gold and silver.  I paired it up with Champagne Bottle (3811-H) and Happy New Year (3804-I).

Please make your way over to The House That Stamps Built to get the details for buying this image for 50% off and to see the fun samples the rest of the team has made!

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Outlines - Thanks!

Good morning!  Hope you had a very Merry Christmas or Happy Hanukkah!   This week the challenge over at Outlines is to make a holiday thank you card.  For my sample I used Sparkle Thanks (H-905) and paired it up with some Jillibean Soup Christmas Eve Chowder papers.

I colored the Thanks image using Copic markers  to match the patterned papers and trimmed it close to the stamped image.  I matted it with red paper, which I also trimmed closed to the stamped image.  Finally, I added a LOT of Swarovski crystals - LOVE those!  You can see how much they sparkle a little better in this side angle view.

I have decided to step down from the Outlines design team due to some big projects I have going on at work, so this will be my last post as a member of the design team.  What a great and talented group they are!  I will surely miss them and being on the team.

Please be sure to look up the details for playing along with this week's challenge over at the Outlines blog and also check out the great cards the rest of the team has made:

Jeanne Streiff - Inky Paws

Jenny Gropp - One Krafty Kat

Kecia Waters - Stamping Deets
Lisa Silver - Silver Stamping

Sandy Hulsart - Creative Moments with Sandy

Sue Kment - Sue's Stamping Stuff

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RI DCC Challenge - Shaped Card

We have a new Designer's Choice Challenge starting today over at The House That Stamps Built and this time the challenge is to make a shaped card.  For my sample I used Candy Cane Penguin (8813-J), which I stamped using Versafine Onyx Black and then colored using Copic markers.  I added Viva Glass Effect Gel to the candy cane and Liquid Applique to the pompom on his hat.  The patterned papers are from Jillibean Soup's Christmas Eve Chowder collection and my card base was made using a Spellbinders' Grand Nestabilities Big Scalloped Oval die.

Please stop over at The House That Stamps Built to find out the rules for the playing along with us on this new challenge and to take a peek at the fun shaped cards the rest of the team has made!  This will probably be my last post before the holiday weekend, so Happy Holidays to you!



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Outlines - Let it Snow!

There is a new challenge starting today over at the Outlines blog and this week's challenge is Let it Snow!  For my sample card, I used Snowflake Square Lg. (E-523), which I heat embossed with gold embossing powder on white shimmer paper and matted on gold paper.  I did the same for the sentiment, which is Let It Snow Square Sm. (B-752).  To complement the background paper, I used Olivine Swarovski crystals around both images.

Here's a side view of it to try to show all the shimmer from those gorgeous Swarovski crystals! 

Please be sure to look up the details for playing along with this week's challenge over at the Outlines blog and also check out the great cards the rest of the team has made:

Jeanne Streiff - Inky Paws

Jenny Gropp - One Krafty Kat

Kecia Waters - Stamping Deets
Lisa Silver - Silver Stamping

Sandy Hulsart - Creative Moments with Sandy

Sue Kment - Sue's Stamping Stuff

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RI Sketch Challenge - Ho! Ho! Ho!

There is a new sketch challenge starting today over at The House That Stamps Built.  For my sample card, I used Candy Cane Santa (303-I) and Ho! Ho! Ho! (2214-H).  I paired the images with Gingerbread Houses patterned paper from American Crafts.

My card fits this week's challenges at Crazy 4 Challenges (C4C117), which is to make a card with Santa on it and the Creative Belli Challenge (CBC132), which is to make a winter or Christmas card.

Please be sure to make your way over to The House That Stamps Built to find the rules for playing along in the sketch challenge and to see the other design team members' great cards!

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RI SOTW - Snow Sledding

Greetings! We have a new stamp of the week over at The House That Stamps Built and this week's special is on this very cute Snow Sledding (4712-J) image! I paired him with some snowman and snowflake patterned papers from The Paper Loft Winter Wonderland.  The sentiment is a perfect match for him, too - One flake to another (8904-I).  The panels were sponged using Distress Inks and the snowy hill was made by spreading some Holo Iridescent Glitter Liner to form a hill.

Please head over to The House That Stamps Built to get the details for getting this stamp at 50% off and to see the great creations the rest of the team has made using this fun image!

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Outlines - Sparkle and Shine!

We have a new challenge theme over at Outlines and this week's challenge is Sparkle and Shine - crystals, shimmery paper, glitter, whatever you want, just make it sparkle and shine!  For my sample card I used Tree Jewel (C-1087), which I stamped using Versamark and gold embossed.  I added a bunch of Swarovski Crystals to my image - Lt. Siam, Emerald, Lt. Colorado Topaz and Clear in sizes 7, 12 and 16.  The image is popped up using foam tape.

All of the papers I used are shimmery too - it's easier to see all the sparkle in this angled shot and you can always click on the photos to see them larger.  The sentiment is from the Christmas Layer Collage (K-704) and was stamped in red ink on Cryogen Poison Ivory paper. 

Please be sure to look up the details for playing along with this week's challenge over at the Outlines blog and also check out the great cards the rest of the team has made:

Jeanne Streiff - Inky Paws

Jenny Gropp - One Krafty Kat

Kecia Waters - Stamping Deets
Lisa Silver - Silver Stamping

Sandy Hulsart - Creative Moments with Sandy

Sue Kment - Sue's Stamping Stuff

Thanks for stopping by!

RI DCC Challenge - Bookmark

We have a new Designer's Choice Challenge over at The House That Stamps Built this week and the challenge is to make a bookmark.  I have a lot of wine lover friends, so I decided to use Daily Red FLIP Set (7506-W) for my bookmark.  The images were colored using Copic markers and I sponged the edges using Distress Inks.

Please be sure to head over to The House That Stamps Built to get the rules for playing along in the challenge and to see the great bookmarks the rest of the team created!

Thanks for stopping by!