You know you're a bit too OCD when...

... you wind up redoing the front of the card not once, twice, but three times! I was trying to do a pretty hexagonal pattern and failed badly on the first try as my hexagons were too big; the second try I wanted to add outlines but my ruler skills were not up to par. But, third time was the charm!

Inspiration : https://www.flickr.com/photos/tulip1312/9315856351/lightbox/ by Joy Taylor @ SimpleByDesign

Instead of following a mostly white on white tone, I opted to pick three flirty fun colors to stamp the different hexagons in. I also utilized a swipe technique - first you ink the stamp, and then you swipe to get a pattern, which you can see on all the hexagons stamped in Gypsy.

And then, I got inspired by a link that teaches you how to make your own epoxy embellishments - and covered the butterfly cutout all over with Liquid Glass. I fiddled with the front of the card for so long that my Liquid Glass dried by the time I was done.

I brought the hexagons back inside the card and picked a cute little sentiment for it. I'm sure Mom's going to love this - and for the second time this year, the card is *actually* on time.

Other:
* Cream cardstock

CTMH:
* Honeycomb Stamp Set
* Joyful Birthday Stamp Set
* You Are My Happy Sentiment - retired CC
* Cocoa Ink
* Twilight Ink
* Ruby Ink
* Gypsy Ink
* Liquid Glass
* Opaque Pearl Adhesives - retired
* Red / Pink Adhesive Sparkles - retired
* Artiste Cricut Cartridge

Looks like the snow has retreated this week but the damage that it has caused is unreal!

Sometimes it's just plain fun to fiddle.

It's time consuming, don't get me wrong, but I really loved the end result. This year is my MIL's big 60th birthday, but alas I had to go back to Calgary for work and so could not join her. Hubby, however is able to make a tiny detour so I'm glad for that, and I'm sending some cards with him.

It was a big set of cards to do in four days but I did it! There was no particular inspiration for this one but three hours of fiddling later...

I really love the silver frame on the black. It's downright gorgeous - and just that little extra sparkle here and there plus some foam tape and fussy cuts makes it really pretty. And ok, kudos to you if you can spot the distressing of three colors on the front!

The inside was the same butterfly - because you know, I absolutely adore this set which pairs perfectly with La Belle Vie Level 2 Paper Pack. I cried the day they retired it...

Other:
* Cream Cardstock
* Butterfly punch
* Lace edge punch

CTMH:
* La Belle Vie Level 2 Paper Pack
* Jardin Stamp Set - retired
* You Are My Happy Sentiments - retired
* Smokey Plum Ink
* Gypsy Ink
* Cotton Candy Ink
* Silver embossing powder - retired
* Detail embossing powder - retired

In the last three days, Old Man Winter decided to visit with a vengance and we had broken trees, power outs, dicey roads... I hope that it hasn't affected you too much and that you are warm, safe, and dry!

First Class Birthday

I am back from a fabulous holiday in beautiful Malta, on the Mediterranean Coast. It was warm, the food was fantastic, the company was awesome, and I'm left wondering if I want to move or not :) If you do go and see one thing, go see Comino - the waters are just unreal but prepare for a large amount of tourists! And this photo is just from my iPhone... so you can imagine photos do not do this place justice.

 Comino & Blue Lagoon - an island belonging to the Maltese Archipelago between the islands of Malta and Gozo in the Mediterranean Sea

My brother in law is a huge fan of planes... which means, I use a specific set: Horizons over and over again. I'm hoping to expand my collection of plane stamp sets eventually. However, this time I had accidentally double ordered a set for a customer of mine that included a first class fun tag - just perfect for the same flight theme.

Inspiration: http://stempelwiese.de/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/geburtstagskarte-stampin-up-rosette-sonnenblume-031012.jpg

I hauled out an old set of the Level 2 Assortment from Lucky to finish this off. After all, doesn't everyone dream of flying first class one day? I wanted to play a bit more with distressing, so I crumpled up some paper towel and went to town with Barn Red, Autumn Terracotta and Outdoor Denim.

On the inside, I used one of the borders that you can cut off the 12 x 12 patterns from Skylark. Some left over goodies from my workshops that went awesome!

Other:
* Cream Cardstock

CTMH:
* True To Life Stamp Set
* You Are My Happy Sentiments Set - retired Constant Campaign
* Card Chatter Birthday Set - retired
* Horizon Set - retired
* Dreams Come True - retired
* Skylark Level 2 Paper Pack
* Barn Red Ink
* Outdoor Denim Ink
* Autumn Terracotta Ink
* Goldrush Ink
* Lucky Level 2 Chipboard Assortment
* Designer Ribbon Blue Collection - retired
* Blue / Green Epoxy Adhesive Bubbles

Where did the heat go?

Foxes and a little girl's birthday...

I admit it. I'm guilty of buying stamp sets that I fall in love with. Which means occasionally I have all these sets that I've never used just floating around somewhere. The Feburary 2014 SOTM was no exception. But, I finally found a use!

Inspiration: Case Study 157 : Jean Martin

On the front of the card is a scrap from La Belle Vie, a retired paper pack that I was sad to see go. It's French inspired and thought it would be super elegant for the little birthday girl. I just had to use the foxes - she's intelligent and very sassy :) when she's not scared of the people around her. I also popped up the flower on the bottom fox with puff tape and used a bit of bling to make it stand out.

On the inside is a quote from You Are My Happy, an older constant campaign (another set I didn't know what to do with until now!). I brought the fox inside along with a strip of the same paper from the front. I love being able to do that.

Other:
* Pink adhesive flower sparkle

CTMH:
* La Belle Vie Level 2 Paper Pack - retired
* You are My Happy Sentiments - retired
* Wild About Love - Feb 2014 CC - retired
* Card Chatter - Birthday - retired
* Bronze Shimmer Trim
* Gypsy Ink
* Smoothie Ink
* Twilight Ink
* Foam Adhesive

Hope you are enjoying the respite from the heat!

Rush Hour Wedding Card...

Nobody said I was smart when I backed a BBQ, a card workshop, a post-wedding celebration, and iftaar party back to back in two days. But I did realize very quickly that I didn't have a card for the happily married couple!

In an hour I came up with this inspired by a pin off my Pinterest - Case Study 157 by Jean Martin.

The set itself is a really old SOTM from CTMH but I love how the marks make it really easy to shade the flowers in. Copics used: R24, R29, R22, BG75,YG67, YG63. I paired this with Grey Adhesive Epoxy bubbles.

And on the inside I continued the color scheme and flower, the sentiment from yet another Campaign - You Are My Happy.

Other:
* Ivory cardstock
* Copic markers

CTMH:
* You Are My Happy - Sentiments *retired
* Happy Valentine's * retired
* The Happy Couple
* For Always Level 2 Paper Pack
* Barn Red Ink

* Cocoa Ink
* Grey and Black Adhesive Epoxy Bubbles

Hope you are enjoying summer!