So I’ve been going through my mind with all the excuses as to why I haven’t blogged in forever.  After the usual back & forth about being busy with other areas of my stamping business, some issues with my right hand due to carpal tunnel and also getting ready for my trip to Fiji, etc., I think it all boils down to the fact that I’ve just let other things get in the way.  I love blogging and I really miss it when I leave too much time between posts, so here I am vowing to myself not to let other things get in the way too much.

Now after all that rambling I’d love to share with you a card that I made this morning.

The card is very simple to recreate.  All I did was die-cut out the butterflies in matching papers all from the Beau Chateau suite of papers from Stampin’ Up!, sponged the edges with ink and then layered them.  The background is Crumb Cake cardstock (formerly known as Kraft) which I dry embossed using the Big Shot and the Finial Press Embossing Folder.  The ‘newsprint’ paper on the right is from Stampin’ Up!’s First Edition specialty paper which I sponged around the edges with Crumb Cake ink and then sponged the centre with some Champagne Mist shimmer paint to give it a very light gold shimmer.  Very quick and easy and I think would work for a variety of occasions such as birthday, get well, thank you, Mother’s Day (although that’s aaages away)… just add your sentiment to the inside of your card and you’re done.

Quick cardmaking tip: using patterned papers that come in a pack means super quick and coordinated cards.  You can use lots of different patterned paper and it still matches beautifully (see how many different patterns are in the butterflies?).  Also your colour combination is taken care of as you just go with the colours that are from the patterned paper.

Card background style tip: If you don’t want a plain background but the front of your card is quite busy, go for an embossed background (dry embossed or clear embossing powder on plain cardstock) to give interest and texture to your card without overwhelming it.

Hope you enjoyed this card and I promise I will be back again quickly.

And here’s a list of Stampin’ Up! products that I used to create this card:

Cardstock & Paper:
Pink Pirouette Textured cardstock
Soft Suede
Crumb Cake (aka Kraft)
Beau Chateau designer series paper
First Edition specialty paper

Inkpad and Other Colouring Items:
Crumb Cake inkpad (for sponging)
Marina Mist inkpad (for sponging)
Champagne Mist shimmer paint (for sponging on First Edition paper)

Tools:
Big Shot
Beautiful Butterflies Die
Finial Press Embossing Folder
Sponge Daubers

Accessories:
Flower Button (Neutrals)
Clear Rhinestone brad (medium sized)
Antique Brad

Adhesives:
SNAIL
Stampin’ Dimensionals
Glue Dots