Stampin! with Jaydee

Hi Everyone.  Happy Monday.

This weekend I actually got some time to sit down and make a couple of cards.  I needed a little inspiration to get my creative juices flowing and popped along to Moxie Fab World where the fabulous Cath is hosting a Stamp It! Thank You card challenge

and then popped along to Palspaperarts.  I saw this fabulous color combination and I knew I wanted to use it for my Thank You card....I just didn't know how!

It's a gorgeous, rich color scheme, but it took me a little while to work out how I was going to use it.  I looked at the butterflies in the Make a Cake stamp set, but they were just too small for what I had in mind.  Luckily, I remembered that I had the MDS version of Make a Cake.  Once I opened up MDS, I was ready to go as I was able to size the butterflies exactly as I wanted them.

It was really easy to create the background butterflies.  All I need to do was to get the first set the right size and then copy and paste the rest, positioning them so that they didn't connect with each other, or overlap.  All I had to do then was change the colors to either Early Espresso, Cherry Cobbler or Daffodil Delight.  Once I was happy with it, I printed it out and cut it to size.  Once again, I used a layer of vellum to soften the background a little.

I stamped the sentiment and adhered it to the butterfly base.  I then reached for my fabulous new SU butterfly punch and punched out a piece of Cherry Cobbler Patterns Pack DSP and then punched another in vellum.  I adhered the two together and added a couple of pearls to cover where the glue was on the butterflies.  I really needed a base for my butterflies and could have accomplished that with a punched out circle of Cherry Cobbler, but opted to use an old button I had instead.  The button gives just a little more height and is a perfect resting place for the butterfly.

I was really pleased with the card in the end and pleased that I had my MDS!  I really do like to use MDS for elements on my cards, but can never let go of actual glue, embellishments and getting dirty fingers from ink pads!

I know the talented team across at the Pals Paper Arts will love it if you pop along to their challenge blog and check out the fabulous design team cards - and play along, too!  You have to check out MoxieFabWorld and see the challenges that are going on right now - there are a couple of great challenges and you still have time to play in the Thank You card challenge, too!

On a personal note:

I woke up early on Sunday morning to the most amazing sunrise.  I still cannot get used to the expanse of sky that we get from our bedroom windows in the new house.   Even though it was REALLY early, and I was half asleep, I had to go downstairs and get my camera to take a few shots.

My poor camera was trying to focus on the fly screen - so forgive me for the fact that these pictures aren't the greatest.

Even Bailey and Sam decided they needed to appreciate such a glorious start to the morning!

I'd like to say a huge thank you to the team at retro sketches for giving a shout out to my butterfly card this week.  You can see the fussy cut butterfly card on this post. 

I always get such a kick out of having one of my creations selected!  I couldn't wait to play along with the great sketch this week, either.  But you will see that card in another post.

Linda... you asked what was in the sock like bag in this post.  That's the bag of nijyer thistle for the goldfinch.  Well, it's supposed to be for the goldfinch, but we discovered that one of the woodpeckers has also taken a liking to it!  Actually, the birds around here are doing some strange things.  The Bluebirds are nesting in a woodpecker box in the trees.  Right where they are NOT supposed to nest.  The woodpecker is eating the thistle and, if that isn't enough, we have a pair of woodpeckers who have developed a very sweet tooth and can be found drinking sugar water out of the hummingbird feeder!

Terri...you asked about the Toasted Marshmallow color - yep.. it is a Benjamin Moore color - and looks perfect as the accent wall in the master bedroom I can tell you! :-)

Jodi - thanks for the tip on the All Seasons Wild Bird Store - I need to go check them out!

Millie... I'm sorry about the heat and your tomato vines, but hope that you had a good time stamping with your friends.

As always, thank you for stopping by my little space in the stamping blogosphere.  I really do appreciate your visits and your comments.  I love reading them.

Warm hugs and prayers for those of you who need a little lift today.  LeAnne, prayers, too, for you, my friend.

Hugs

Jaydee

Stamp recipe - all ingredients Stampin' Up! unless otherwise noted:

• Card stock:  Cherry Cobbler, Whisper White, Vellum
• Stamps:  Butterflies - Make a Cake Digital Stamp set.  Sentiment:  Amuse Studio
• Inks:  Early Espresso, Cherry Cobbler, Early Espresso
• Tools:  Butterfly punch
• Accessories:  Pearls (non-SU).  Button (non-SU)