Is it Spring yet?

Happy Monday!  I hope you had a great weekend and aren't too bleary-eyed this morning after losing an hour of sleep!  It has been a crazy couple of days!  I had my band up north on Friday for a music festival...they played beautifully and earned a spot in the National festival in May!  I'm so proud of them!!  We were also at the wedding of a friend of my husband's over the weekend so there wasn't much time for stamping.  Fortunately, I still have lots of finished projects to share with you!  This one was for my Blendabilities Club last month...

Easter card featuring the Indescribable Gift stamp set. 

Now, you've likely heard that at the moment Blendabilities are not available for ordering due to quality issues with the manufacturer.  While this is frustrating for everyone, it is best that Stampin' Up! stops selling these products while they resolve the issues.  Think how much more frustrating it would be to order a set of Blendabilities only to have them arrive dried out or with damaged tips!  Once the issues are resolved you can bet Blendabilities will be back and better than ever!
As for how I put this one together, I stamped the focal image, from the Indescribable Gift stamp set, in Crumb Cake ink and then coloured the blossoms with Soft Sky Blendabilities.  I used Old Olive for the leaves, adding highlights with the Colour Lifter.  I added a hint of colour to the branches with the lightest shade in the Crumb Cake Assortment.

The ovals are die-cut using the Ovals Collection Framelits and I used the Occasions Paper-piercing template to add detail to the larger Soft Sky oval.  The card base is made from Crumb Cake card stock and is stamped using the Indescribable Gift stamp set in Crumb Cake ink.   The sentiment is also stamped in Crumb Cake ink.  I added some Painted Blooms Cotton Twine that I pulled apart into three sections so that I would have finer strands.  I threaded a Vintage Faceted button with some of the thinner strands and tie a bow.

On the inside I stamped the blossoms image in Crumb Cake ink and the sentiment in Soft Sky ink.  What a wonderful message for an Easter card!
I hope you have a wonderful week...spring seems to be getting nearer...we're finally on the positive side of zero on the thermometer!  Not long now.... :)

Faux Silk Butterfly

Man, I am SOOOO ready for Spring!  It seems I can't sit down to stamp a card these days that doesn't include flowers or butterflies...or both!  Bring on the sunshine and warmer weather!
Today I have another of the projects I'll be creating with my monthly techniques group next week.  It uses the Faux Silk technique...an oldie, but one many of my newer members haven't seen.

Spring-themed card featuring the Painted Petals and From the Garden stamp sets, Butterflies Thinlits and using the Faux Silk background technique.

I remember learning the Faux Silk technique at a techniques class when I was a new stamper...I loved it!  Who would have thought that crumpled tissue paper could look so good!  To create the background panel on this card I began with a piece of white tissue paper slightly larger than the size of panel I wanted to create.  I stamped all over the tissue with images from the Painted Petals stamp set, using Soft Sky ink for the flowers and Pistachio Pudding for the leaves.  Ensuring the ink had dried, I then crumpled up the tissue paper, taking card not to tear it.  I applied a thin layer of Multipurpose Liquid Glue all over a piece of Whisper White card stock cut to the size of the panel I wanted.  I uncrumpled the tissue paper, taking care not to completely smooth out the wrinkles, and then pressed the tissue lightly onto the gluey card stock.  I gently tapped the paper into the glue and then wrapped the excess around the back side of the card stock and adhered it in place.  I then adhered the panel to a slightly large piece of Soft Sky card stock. 

With the background panel complete, I embossed the Whisper White layer behind it using the Spring Flowers TIEF and adhered it to a Soft Sky card base.  I die cut a small butterfly from scrap Soft Sky card stock using the Butterflies Thinlits and layered it behind a larger butterfly die-cut from Dazzling Diamonds glimmer paper.  The sentiment, from the From the Garden set, is stamped in Pistachio Pudding ink and trimmed into a pennant using the Banner punch and then embellished with a bit of Pistachio Ruffled Ribbon (retired).  The finishing touches were the Simply Pressed Clay moulded flower and a scattering of pearls.

Inside view with sentiment from the Indescribable Gift stamp set.

On the inside I used a die-cut butterfly as a stencil and daubered some Soft Sky ink over it to get a subtle stenciled butterfly.  I then stamped the sentiment, from the Indescribable Gift set, using Pistachio Pudding ink.
I have to say, even though this technique is an old one, I love the way this card turned out!  Sometimes the tried-and-true can surprise us!