CAS Butterfly

This is a super simple card I have for you today.  The coloring took the most time, and it was a pure pleasure to do.

I am CASEing a morning glories card I found somewhere on the Web and saved to my computer.  The photo of the card didn't have a watermark :-(, so I don't know who made it.

I used a butterfly from an older Stampin' Up! set called Touch of Nature.  I LOVE so many of SU's older stamps.  I haven't even used all of them yet.  It bums me out that I can't use them when I make cards for magazine submissions.  They usually want current products, and although I have some things that are current, my heart lingers over older supplies/stamps that I hold dear.

At least Paper Players won't mind if my challenge submission uses an older stamp!  They want to see birthday cards this week.

Before I go, I want to show you a project I worked on this summer.  I made porch curtains out of all-weather fabric from Waverly.



Curtains closed to block the afternoon sun.

Curtains open and tied back.

It was an easy project and I am so happy with the outcome.  I used a pole from Plow and Hearth, meant for outdoor use.  The fabric was on deep discount at JoAnn Fabrics when I bought it.  I was lucky to find the same material that had been used to make the porch cushions a couple of summers ago.  A friend made and covered them for me, using foam made for boat cushions.  The wicker furniture belonged to my grandparents, and they purchased it used from a convent many years before.  I don't know how old it is, but I cherish it so much.  Not only is it beautiful, but it was part of the scene as I grew up.  The set had been painted bright orange, then mustard gold, then pea green, and then white in my youth.  I think I prefer the classic white, thank you.  ;)

Cristabel in my crafting area.

I'll be back in the wee hours of tomorrow morning with a new Play Date Cafe card.  See you then!

Colleen

Stamps:  Timeless Tags - Craft's Meow; Touch of Nature - SU
Paper:  Wild Wasabi - SU; white - PTI
Ink:  Memento Tuxedo Black - Tsukineko
Other:  Big Shot; Perfect Polka Dots embossing folder - SU; Copic markers; circle die cuts - Spellbinders

Upgrading Older Cards and a Baby Quilt....and I'm Published!

Hi!  If you follow my blog, you know that I've had TOO little time to create cards lately.  This still stands true, but I have been crafting a little bit lately.  :)  I also wanted to share my exciting news -- I've got two cards published in Paper Crafts Card Ideas for Paper Crafters, which just came out August 1st!

I'm on pages 33 and 91.  :)  So happy!  This is my first time being published.

When I was rifling through my box of give-away cards recently, it dawned on me that I had a lot of cards that are much too simple for my current taste.  Take these, for example, from a Simply Sent Kit by Stampin' Up!: 

Way back when I bought that kit, I did exactly as the instructions said.  I was a novice card maker, and needed all the help I could get.  Well, that was fine for then, but I wanted to dress these up a bit.

Now they are a bit more dressed up, thanks to two new punches I picked up not long ago:  Dotted Scallop by EK Success, and Doily Lace Trim double edge by Martha Stewart.  I could have added pearls, too, but I wanted to keep these relatively flat for easy (read:  cheaper) mailing. 

Another craft project that has kept me busy for the last week is to restore my 9 YO's baby quilt, which she sleeps with every night.

Meet "Baby Quilt", also known as "Quiltie":

I made this for Kerry before she was born, before I knew I'd be having a girl.  I was SURE she was going to be a boy, because I really wanted another girl and doubted I'd get my #1 choice two babies in a row.  :)

(there's nothing wrong with boys, but I've always been a real girly girl and felt I'd be a better mom to girls)

Kerry has slept with this quilt for nearly 10 years, and it was showing signs of falling apart:

Knowing Kerry would be bereft without it for a few days while I fixed it, I tried to prepare everything I could ahead of time:  I measured, I cut the new fluffy batting, I cut flannel strips and sewed together to make a binding.

The first night she had to sleep without it, she was very upset.  She had trouble falling asleep, bless her little heart.  The subsequent nights were easier, and in the meantime I had removed over a thousand stitches, one by one, to get the top and bottom apart.

After fitting it with a new piece of fluffy batting, and attaching a binding (which it did not have in the first place), now it looks like this:

It's by no means perfect, and I have a bit of tufting yet to finish, but it should last years longer and that makes Kerry happy.  :) 

Thanks for joining me today!

Colleen

Stamps:  Simple Delights from Simply Sent kit - Stampin' Up!

Paper:  River Rock, Chocolate Chip, Very Vanilla, Soft Sky - SU

Ink:  Chocolate Chip, River Rock - SU

Punches:  Dotted Scallop by EK Success, and Doily Lace Trim double edge by Martha Stewart