Beauty Abounds & Botanical Butterfly for As You See It Challenge #197

I've been visiting with my two sisters this past week. They have both recently retired and we have just been given a wealth of items that belonged to our dad and our family that we wanted to go through and sort out. Some of these things we have never seen before so it's been an eye-opening time as we piece together our family's history.

But in the midst of this, it is time for another As You See It Challenge, Challenge #197 as we inch closer to Challenge #200. This week Amanda has given us the cutest sketch to work with:

I got out my Beauty Abounds and my Butterfly Gala stamp sets along with my Botanical Butterfly Designer Series Paper and put this together:

• I wasn't sure if I liked Grapefruit Grove and Balmy Blue together, as I don't usually like complimentary colours (opposite each other on the colour wheel) together, but with Sahara Sand and lots of Whisper White mediating the effect, I think they're okay together.
• I used the Botanical Butterfly Designer Series Paper as the lower panel from the sketch. Botanical Butterfly DSP is a Sale-A-Bration Reward that you can still earn if you're quick. Make a $60 purchase in the next two days and you'll make it under the wire. March 31st is when Sale-A-Bration ends.
• The little punched border is made with the Decorative Ribbon Border Punch, in the Annual Catalogue.
• The Bokeh effect bubbles and the flourish stamps are from the Beauty Abounds stamp set. I used Sahara Sand, Petal Pink and Grapefruit Grove to stamp those images. The sentiment is also from Beauty Abounds.
• The Butterfly Gala butterfly images were stamped with Memento Tuxedo Black ink and coloured in with Calypso Coral Light Stampin' Blends Marker and Balmy Blue Stampin' Write Marker. The Butterfly Duet Punch is made to punch both images at the same time. I always add the butterflies' bodies after punching them out, because then you can see exactly where to situate them.
• One more punch was used and that is the Starburst Punch for the sentiment and the double butterflies.

Yes, Sale-A-Bration is almost over!! Sunday is the last day to get in on the deals! Message me before then. Last order going in on Sunday evening!

This has been the best deal in a long time during Sale-A-Bration - the Starter Kit. I would get in on it if I were you! You get $225 worth of products OF YOUR OWN CHOICE, for only $135 with FREE SHIPPING!! Even if you don't have any intention of selling or working the business, you still get 4 months of 20% discounts on all your favourite products! There are no penalties or risks, you simply stop being a demonstrator if you don't order enough to make the minimum requirement. It's still the best deal around, and you still have 3 days left to take advantage of it! Just go to the top menu and click on Join My Team and follow the prompts!

Shhhh! Don't tell anyone.... but if you have earned at least one Sale-A-Bration Reward or have Joined My Team during Sale-A-Bration this year.....

Then you have earned an invitation to my exclusive Celebrate Sale-A-Bration Party in April, with food, games and amazing door prizes - Sale-A-Bration rewards that I earned myself for the purpose of passing along to the guests at my Celebrate Sale-A-Bration party! You can still get in on it. Just put in a $60 or more order with me by Sunday and you'll get one of those invitations in your email!

Click on the links below to take you to my On-Line Store, where you can read about, look at, and purchase if you wish, the products used to make this card today.

Product List

Beauty Abounds Cling Stamp Set [148726] $31.00	Beauty Abounds Cling Bundle [150617] $75.50	Butterfly Gala Photopolymer Stamp Set [148580] $27.00	Butterfly Gala Photopolymer Bundle [150599] $45.75	Botanical Butterfly Designer Series Paper [149622] $0.00
Petal Pink 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock [146985] $11.50	Sahara Sand 8-1/2" X 11" Card Stock [121043] $11.50	Whisper White 8-1/2" X 11" Card Stock [100730] $13.25	Balmy Blue 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock [146982] $11.50	Tuxedo Black Memento Ink Pad [132708] $8.25
Sahara Sand Classic Stampin' Pad [147117] $10.25	Grapefruit Grove Classic Stampin' Pad [147142] $10.25	Petal Pink Classic Stampin' Pad [147108] $10.25	Calypso Coral Light Stampin' Blends Marker [144042] $6.00	Subtles Stampin' Write Markers [147156] $40.00
Basic Black Stampin' Write Marker [100082] $4.75	Decorative Ribbon Border Punch [143721] $22.00	Starburst Punch [143717] $24.00	Butterfly Duet Punch [148523] $24.00	Liquid Multipurpose Glue [110755] $5.50
Glue Dots [103683] $7.25

Country Home for Newsletter Tutorial and Stampin' Storage is Coming Soon!

Have you ever wanted to be able to create the watercolour look on your cards? It's really not that hard and my latest newsletter tutorial is all about helping you look like you've been doing it all your life.

I send out an information newsletter every month featuring all the latest Stampin' Up! promotions as well as my own class information and I try to include a stamping tutorial in each issue. The newsletters are free and so is the tutorial which is usually a step-by-step photo tutorial which includes a list of materials needed complete with measurements. Before I tell you how to get my newsletters and tutorials, here's a closer look at April's free tutorial subject:9

• I'm not going to give away a  lot of info about the material and products used in this card, because you'll find all that out in the tutorial.
• The techniques you will learn are layered watercolour background washes and layered watercolour shading. I've also included some Shimmer Paint in the mix here.
• There is lots of texture involved in this card design including two Dynamic Embossing Folders. I always think that texture really adds that extra 'je ne sais quois' to a card design.

To sign up for my monthly newsletter, (and I truly try to keep my correspondence to once a month, unless there is a surprise promotion that comes up mid-month that I think all my customers and readers would want to know about, but that is the exception rather than the rule) simply enter your email address in the field below and click on Go. It is easy to unsubscribe from my email list whenever you desire, and there is a link to unsubscribe on every email I send.

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I have some VERY exciting news from Stampin' Up! Stampin' Storage is coming April 1st. Dedicated modular storage for our new stamp pads our Stampin' Write Markers and our Stampin' Blends, plus Reinkers and other things you could make of it!

Start planning your new organized craft room now, and be ready to place your orders starting Apr. 1!!

Dandelion Wishes Thank Yous

When I think of the stamp sets that are my favourites from the Annual Catalogue, Dandelion Wishes comes to mind every time! Those dandelion seed heads with the seeds flying away in the wind just do it for me. And I thought they would look great embellished in a metallic powder on Basic Black. Needing some more thank you cards for customers, I used Whisper White Notecards & Envelopes as my card bases, which are 3 1/2" x 5", so a little smaller than a regular card size.

Take a closer look:

• The smaller sized card means the Copper Foil that I used for the matte was 3 1/4" x 4 3/4" and I didn't need as much as for a regular sized card base (4 1/4" x 5 1/2"). To save even more foil, you can use a Rectangle Stitched Framelit to cut away the inside of the matte and save it for something else, leaving you with a frame around the edge.
• I set up the dandelion image from Dandelion Wishes and the sentiment from Thankful Thoughts on the same acrylic block. I used the Embossing Buddy lightly on the Basic Black cardstock piece so that I didn't get a lot of powder on it that would be hard to get off. It is important to use it though, because the Copper Stampin' Emboss Powder does tend to cling where it's not wanted if you don't.
• The image and sentiment are inked up with Versamark Ink and stamped on the black cardstock. Then the Copper Stampin' Emboss Powder is sprinkled over the stamped areas and the excess is tapped off lightly. The Heat Tool is used to set the embossing powder until it melts and turns shiny.
• The Basic Black panel is adhered to the copper foil matte and added to the notecard base. This is a very simple card to complete, but it packs a punch!

The next Paper Pumpkin kit will include some beautiful DistINKtive style stamps for photorealistic images. You'll want to sign up or reactivate your account by April 10 to get in on this one! I, for one, am really excited to get it!

To subscribe click here: PAPER PUMPKIN

An alternative is to get a 3, 6 or 12 month pre-paid subscription through me and earn Sale-A-Bration Rewards if you do it before March 31. To do that, visit my On-Line Store and click on Prepaid Subscriptions, then pick the length of subscription you want and check out. Stampin' Up! will email you a code and you then go to the Paper Pumpkin link above and enter the code to activate your subscription. You can do this even if you have an already active subscription. The code will just set aside your regular payments until your prepaid subscription is up.

3 Month Subscription = $75.00  #137859  - 1 $60 level Sale-A-Bration Reward
6 Month Subscription = $144.00  #137860  - 2 $60 level  or 1 $120 level Sale-A-Bration Rewards

12 Month Subscription = $275.00  #137861  - 4 $60 level  or 2 $120 level Sale-A-Bration Rewards

Click on the links below to take you to my On-Line Store, where you can read about, look at, and purchase if you wish, the products used to make this card today.

Product List

Dandelion Wishes Clear-Mount Stamp Set [146747] $27.00	Dandelion Wishes Wood-Mount Stamp Set [146744] $38.00	Thankful Thoughts Wood-Mount Stamp Set [141519] $37.00	Thankful Thoughts Clear-Mount Stamp Set [141522] $26.00	Whisper White Note Cards & Envelopes [131527] $8.75
Copper Foil Sheets [142020] $5.50	Basic Black 8-1/2" X 11" Card Stock [121045] $11.50	Versamark Pad [102283] $12.25	Copper Stampin' Emboss Powder [141636] $6.75	Embossing Buddy [103083] $8.25
Heat Tool [129053] $41.00	Rectangle Stitched Framelits Dies [148551] $48.00	Big Shot [143263] $150.00	Liquid Multipurpose Glue [110755] $5.50	SNAIL Permanent Adhesive [104332] $9.50