Monday, March 3, 2025

Swallowtail Butterfly Sympathy Card

A friend from church recently passed away very unexpectedly just a few days after her 60th birthday. I wanted to make a special sympathy card for her husband, so I embossed a panel of watercolor cardstock I had added Lindy's Magicals to and spritzed it with water to create a shimmery panel. Once that was dry, I embossed it with the 3D embossing folder from Altenew's Craft-Your-Life: Garden Whispers project kit. I trimmed it and layered it on a piece of purple cardstock and then layered that onto an A2 card base I had made using shimmer purple cardstock. 

I die cut the pieces for the butterflies using Altenew's Swallowtail Butterflies layering die set and more of the cardstock covered in Lindy's Magicals for the butterfly bases and the shimmer purple cardstock for the detailed layers. I adhered them to the card and then stamped "Heartfelt sympathy" from Altenew's Craft-Your-Life: Bewitching Rose project kit. I had to stamp it a few times since I was stamping onto an embossed panel, so I would recommend doing the stamping BEFORE the embossing! 

For the inside of the card, I stamped the words of Jesus from John 11:25: "I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me...shall live." I think the stamp was from Verve Stamps. I use it a lot for sympathy cards because Jesus’ words are such a comfort for believers. 


 




Inside the card:



I've recently become an affiliate for Altenew, so if you are interested in ordering something lovely from Altenew and would like to use my link, thank you very much! Here's the link: Carrie's Altenew affiliate page 


Challenges I'm entering: 

Triple B: ATG with birds, blooms, and/or butterflies (3/3; ends at the end of the month)


Word Art Wednesday: ATG (5/5 for the week; 5/10 for the challenge; ends 3/12/25)

613 Avenue Create: ATG with option of any occasion (3/8; ends at the end of the month)



The Crafting Challenge: Waiting for Spring (3/3; ends at the end of the month)

Paper Rocks Scissors: ATG with paper and/or scissors (3/5; ends at the end of the month)

Mix It Up Challenge Blog: ATG with option of layers (3/5; ends 4/15/25)

Love To Craft Challenge Blog: ATG (3/5; ends 4/15/25)

A Place To Start: ATG (3/8; ends at the end of the month)

Crafts Galore Encore Challenge Blog: ATG (3/3; ends at the end of the month)

Crafter's Cafe: ATG with option of spots or stripes (unlimited entries; ends 3/12/25)

Classic Design Challenge Blog: ATG with option of thinking of you (unlimited entries; ends 3/12/25)

A Perfect Time To Craft Open Challenge: ATG (unlimited entries; ends at the end of the month)

A Cut Above: ATG with die cuts (3/3; ends at the end of the month)

simonsaysstampblog.com/mondaychallenge/: Use your favorite technique (I love to use mixed media to create unique backgrounds) (3/5; ends 3/10/25)



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Love You Garden Whispers Card

This week my husband and I will celebrate the 35th anniversary of our first date. We don't always celebrate that anniversary, but this year on Valentine's Day, we decided to skip doing anything for Valentine's Day and celebrate the 35th anniversary of our first date instead. It's more meaningful to us, and we won't have to fight the crowds when we go out for dinner 😂. Of course I also wanted to make him a special card to celebrate the occasion, so I took out Altenew's Craft-Your-Life: Garden Whispers set and designed a card for him.

I started by choosing the colors I wanted to ink blend for the flowers and leaves. I went with Altenew's new Bubblegum Dreams and Whispering Woodland Fresh Dye Ink collections with a little Fresh Lemon Crisp Dye ink for the flower centers.  I stamped and die cut the floral stamp and then went to work ink blending through the coordinating stencils. After I had finished, I ran the die cut through my machine using the 3D embossing folder that comes in the set. 

I chose a background I had created with sprays and watercolors and trimmed it down to 6 by 6. Then I die cut several of Altenew's Sparkled Frame die cuts so I could stack them together to add some dimension to the frame. I adhered 4 of them together and then added some Bubblegum Dreams and Whispering Woodland enamel dots to the frame. I played around with the placement of the frame and flowers until I liked how they looked and then adhered the frame down. I positioned my stamps (from the same Garden Whispers set) inside the frame and stamped them before adhering the floral focal point in place with Altenew's new 1/8-inch-thick foam tape. I added a few enamel hearts from the Bubblegum Dreams Enamel Dot set inside the frame. 

To finish the card, I mounted the blue panel onto a 6 1/4 by 6 inch pink card base. I wanted just a touch of pink on the sides of the blue panel. I'm so grateful the Lord brought my husband and I together on that first date so many years ago! We've been so blessed through the years! 

I've recently become an affiliate for Altenew, so if you are interested in ordering something lovely from Altenew and would like to use my link, thank you very much! Here's the link: Carrie's Altenew affiliate page 








Challenges I'm entering: 

Altenew Fresh Dye Inks Contest 2025: Use fresh dye inks (ends 3/10/25)

Can You Handle The Pressure?: ATG with an embossing folder with optional twist of masculine (3/3; ends 3/5/25)

Triple B: ATG with birds, blooms, and/or butterflies (2/3; ends at the end of the month)


Word Art Wednesday: ATG (4/5 for the week; 4/10 for the challenge; ends 3/12/25)

613 Avenue Create: ATG with option of any occasion (2/8; ends at the end of the month)



Cardz 4 Galz: Embellishments: I used enamel dots (2/3; ends 3/5/25) 

The Crafting Challenge: Waiting for Spring (2/3; ends at the end of the month)

Paper Rocks Scissors: ATG with paper and/or scissors (2/5; ends at the end of the month)

Mix It Up Challenge Blog: ATG with option of layers (2/5; ends 4/15/25)

Love To Craft Challenge Blog: ATG (2/5; ends 4/15/25)

A Place To Start: ATG (2/8; ends at the end of the month)

Crafts Galore Encore Challenge Blog: ATG (2/3; ends at the end of the month)

Crafter's Cafe: ATG with option of spots or stripes (unlimited entries; ends 3/12/25)

Classic Design Challenge Blog: ATG with option of thinking of you (unlimited entries; ends 3/12/25)

A Perfect Time To Craft Open Challenge: ATG (unlimited entries; ends at the end of the month)

A Cut Above: ATG with die cuts (2/3; ends at the end of the month)

simonsaysstampblog.com/mondaychallenge/: Use your favorite technique (I love to use mixed media to create unique backgrounds) (2/5; ends 3/10/25)

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Doves in Flight Hello Card

Last month I had the amazing opportunity to be a guest designer for Altenew's February release! It was a dream come true to receive so many great products to play with! Most of the products arrived in December and then a few more came in January, but the new sizes thicknesses of foam tape didn't arrive until last week. It's been great having so many pretty packages delivered! My card today features the 1/4 inch wide and 1/8 inch thick foam tape. This is great for narrow die cuts like the wings of my dove in the card I made.

To create this card, I made an A2 card base out of white cardstock. Then I did some die cutting. I die cut the pieces for the dove using Altenew's Creative Cuts: Doves in Flight set and assembled the layers using Art Glitter liquid glue. Then I die cut Altenew's Berry Branch Layering set using white cardstock for the bottom two layers and brown cardstock for the top layer. I smooshed Altenew's Fresh Leaf Fresh Dye Ink (from the new Whispering Woodland Fresh Dye Ink collection) onto a piece of acetate, spritzed it with a little water, and then watercolored the bottom layer of the Berry Branch set (the one with the leaves). Then I used Altenew's Lagoon Brush Watercolor Marker (from the Winter Wonderland Watercolor Brush Markers set) to watercolor the berry layer. I added a little of the Lagoon watercolor to my acetate with the watered down Fresh Leaf ink and then ink smooshed a panel I had trimmed to fit the front of the card. 

I arranged the branch so that my dove would fit on the panel where I wanted it on the branch and glued that down with Art Glitter liquid glue. Then I added Altenew's new 1/4 inch wide and 1/8 inch thick foam tape to the back of the dove and adhered him where I wanted him on the branch. 

To finish the card, I die cut several layers of the word "hello" (also from the Doves in Flight set) and watercolored one of them using the Lagoon watercolor brush marker again. I adhered the die cut words together and added the watercolored one at the top of the stack and then adhered the sentiment to the card. I then added 3 enamel dots from the Whispering Woodland Enamel Dots collection. 

I've recently become an affiliate for Altenew, so if you are interested in ordering something lovely from Altenew and would like to use my link, thank you very much! Here's the link: Carrie's Altenew affiliate page 





Here's a look at the new foam tape:




 Challenges I'm entering:

Triple B: ATG with birds, blooms, and/or butterflies (1/3; ends at the end of the month)


simonsaysstampblog.com/mondaychallenge/: Use your favorite technique (ink smooshing is one of my favorite techniques for creating a unique background) (1/5; ends 3/10/25)

A Cut Above: ATG with die cuts (2/3; ends at the end of the month)

Aud Sentiments Challenge Blog: St. Patrick's Day/Green (I chose green) + a sentiment (1/5; ends at the end of the month)

Word Art Wednesday: ATG (3/5 for the week; 3/10 for the challenge; ends 3/12/25)

Crafty Catz: ATG with option of For the Girls (5/5; ends 3/6/25)

613 Avenue Create: ATG with option of any occasion (1/8; ends at the end of the month)



Cardz 4 Galz: Embellishments: I used enamel dots (1/3; ends 3/5/25) 

The Crafting Challenge: Waiting for Spring (1/3; ends at the end of the month)

Paper Rocks Scissors: ATG with paper and/or scissors (1/5; ends at the end of the month)

Mix It Up Challenge Blog: ATG with option of layers (1/5; ends 4/15/25)

Love To Craft Challenge Blog: ATG (1/5; ends 4/15/25)

The Diva's that cut ....paper!: Die cuts and critters (I hope my dove counts😁) (1/4; ends at the end of the  month)

A Place To Start: ATG with option of Fairy Tales (1/8; ends at the end of the month)

Critter Crazy CHALLENGE BLOG: ATG with critters (1/5; ends at the end of the month)

Crafty Animals: ATG with animals/birds/insects/etc. (ends at the end of the month)

Crafts Galore Encore Challenge Blog: ATG (1/3; ends at the end of the month)

Crafter's Cafe: ATG with option of spots or stripes (unlimited entries; ends 3/12/25)

Colorful Options: Green (unlimited entries; ends at the end of the month)

Classic Design Challenge Blog: ATG with option of thinking of you (unlimited entries; ends 3/12/25)

A Perfect Time To Craft Open Challenge: ATG (unlimited entries; ends at the end of the month)

If You Give a Crafter a Cookie...: Inspiration Image: My card features a lot of green like the inspiration photo (1/5; ends at the end of the month)

{PIN}spirational Challenges: Spring greens (1/5; ends at the end of the month) My card features a lot of green in the background


AECP Homework for Scene Building: Lesson 3: Use any combination of inks, dies, papers, etc. to build a background for your scene
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