A Few More Butterfly Cards

Hello!
I'm back with the final card from the Kaleidoscope of butterfly cards I shared in my last post. My camera batteries died and I couldn't get a photo of it.

Ink Blended with Wilted Violet ink. Die Cut Stamplorations Flutter Zen1 Butterfly dies, Gina Marie embossing folder(discontinued), sentiment from Lawn Fawn Gingham  Backdops stamp set, MFT Wonky Stitched Rectangle, Spectrum Noir Glitter pen

I didn't share in that post that I almost gave up on these dies as I couldn't get a clean cut for the life of me. I have an original Cuttlebug from around 2006. I'd had another fairly intricate die I'd tried to cut and couldn't get a clean cut for that one either. So I started thinking maybe it was my machine getting too tired to work well. Carol suggested I contact Shery, from Stamplorations. She was able to give me the correct sandwich and I got a great cut! I dug out that other die and tried the same sandwich and that die worked, too! Instead of having the die cut down, you turn it the other way, face up, and add a bit of a shim (the cardstock that comes with the packaging) and voila! Success!

MFT Peekaboo Window Die, Memory Box  Butterfly Die (discontinued?), Lawn Fawn Perfectly Plaid pattern paper, Lawn Fawn stitched rectangle die, Spectrum Noir glitter pen

I guess this will be my final, butterfly final card(for now)! 😊This one I made today. I shamelessly copied this from Carol as well. You can see her beautiful card here. Okay, I changed the butterfly. This is the other intricate die I couldn't get to cut. I had actually thrown the die into the trash, convinced it was defective. I bought it a year or so ago and couldn't return it, so if it didn't cut right, what good was it to me?Thankfully, I hadn't emptied the trash bin yet. 😌

Thanks so much for stopping by!
I hope you are having a wonderful weekend.
It's been snowing here today.  April in Colorado, gotta love it.
After going on a very successful stampy shopping trip, I spent a good part of the afternoon creating cards!
Yippee!

Hugs!
Jeanne

A 'Kaleidoscope' of Butterflies for You

Hello!

Oh goodness, it's been a while, hasn't it? I'll give you the short version. I've been a bit busy. Too short? Because aren't we all busy?! Okay, a little bit longer version. 

A few days after my last post, I got a call from my brother that my dad was going to have a stent put in. Right after Christmas my dad got the flu and pneumonia (he had received both vaccines well before the seasons hit). Anyway, throughout the month after he initially got sick(January), he'd been in and out of the hospital because he couldn't shake the pneumonia and was having trouble breathing. During that time it was determined that he had 3 blocked arteries and needed stents. So I went out to CA for a few days to help him after the procedure. Well, there was a delay and the procedure (they only did the worst of the three) took place later in my stay. Dad came through it fine, thank goodness. I left on Sunday and on Tuesday morning, my brother called to say that Dad was having trouble breathing and he was back in the hospital. It was pretty serious. I flew back that day and stayed for over 2 weeks. Dad was in the hospital one week and a rehab facility the second and I stayed part of a third week to be sure he was not going to end up back in the hospital. Thankfully, this time he seemed to get better. He has been home ever since. Whew! So, that is part of the reason I've been gone so long. I'm just hoping he doesn't get another cold or heaven forbid, pneumonia again for a good long while!

My girls have kept me hopping. Amy's Winterguard season was busy and they ended up qualifying for the state competition. After a very long day and two performances, her group came in 4th out of 18 teams! Pretty exciting! Amy's also been on a long weekend trip to Orlando, Florida for band. Plus various bingo sessions, practices and what not. Jessica joined a few new to us clubs and a couple of them held competitions. One was a Math Counts competition(3-4 of them actually) and the other a Battle of the Books. Her BOB team came in 1st for her school and 3rd in the district! Oh my! She just got back from a weekend trip to Grand Junction with her band. They've also had a few concerts in there, too. I cannot complain about them, other than when they are in teen mode. That's not so fun. But they are totally normal. 

Work has kept me busy, too. My co worker has had a family emergency and has been gone several days. I've picked up a few extra hours. Nice for the wallet, but my body is resisting! LOL 

The end of school is coming up already and that means clubs are starting to wind down. Which means a little less driving for me. Which theoretically means more crafty time. This weekend I was able to play and I have several butterfly cards to share with you! I looked up what a lot of butterflies together is called and Mr. Google said a kaleidoscope or a swarm or a rabble. I like the first choice the best. :)

I was completely inspired (enabled) to  buy these Stamploration stamps and dies (Flutter Zen 1, Flutter Zen 2 and Trendy Butterflies 2 because of Carol's cards (of Just me: c blog) here and here. Isn't her work glorious? Here are my cards. I also made one more, but my camera batteries died and I'm recharging them as I type. I'll share that one later.

Ink blended with Peacock Feathers and Cracked Pistachio ink. Adhered to a piece of bristol smooth cardstock by mistake. Also used Wonky Stiching die from MFT. Sending Hugs from Hero Arts Kindness stamp set

Ink blended with Spiced Marmalade and Worn Lipstick ink. Sending Hugs from Hero Arts Kindness stamp set

Colored with pencils and ink blended with Cracked Pistachio and Peacock Feathers ink

Ink blended with Spiced Marmalade and Worn Lipstick, background is Hero Arts cling stamp and Ranger Enhanced Gold Embossing Powder. Sentiment is embossed with CTMH Silver Pearl embossing powder

Ink blended with Cracked Pistachio and Peacock Feathers ink, senitment heat embossed in Ranger Liquid Platinum ep. I added a strip of washi from Michaels Recollections brand. The background is an old Hero Arts stamp heat embossed in CTMH Silver Pearl ep.

Whew! Still with me? Thank you if you made it this far! I so appreciate you stopping by! 

Hugs,

Jeanne