Butterflies

I love butterflies and any stamp set with a butterfly I have to have, especially if it's on the more whimsical side. The idea for these first two cards came from this blog here although I've made a few changes on each one. Mostly they are just really fun.
This one is an almost exact CASE of one I saw here. It was just to cute not to copy.

It's very, very sparkly. You can click on the picture for a larger image and more detailed shot. There are a few more cards using other images in this stamp set coming in my next post.

Because I Care

This stamp set isn't one I would have ordered, but it came free so I started playing around with it. It really is beautiful and I've been trying some watercoloring techniques with it. For this card, I stamped it in a dark purple and dark green, then colored it in with lighter colors. Then, I used a darker purple to color the centers of some of the flowers and finally added white gel pen highlights to those centers. This is an on my own original.
On this one, I left the flower plain after stamping it in blue and green. I didn't have any matching ribbon so I picked some that was close, but I don't think it's close enough. I may go back and change it. I got the idea for this card from a blog, but I can't find it anymore.

On my own

I made this card all on my own, no sketch, no color inspiration, just two coordinating papers that I really like and a determination to use them. You might be wondering why I used green cardstock and flower center. While it's hard to see in the picture, some of the stitching on the flowers and stripes is this bright green. The faux stitching is a little messy, I need to go a little slower next time, but the more I look at it, the more I like it.

Technique:Bargello

I came across this technique a few weeks ago called Bargello. I guess it's a sewing or quilting technique. Anyway, you take striped paper, cut it into strips of varying lengths and then glue them down, varying the placement. You can watch the video I watched here on this blog.

This is actually my second attempt. The layout was for a sketch challenge, but I forgot to post it.
This is my third attempt. I like the bargello on this the best, but I don't like the layout, but it was quick.
This is my first attempt, I like the wavy pattern I was beginning (from the left), but I should have kept it going. I used my Color Coach to determine colors for the card above and below and I have to say, I don't like either color combo.
But the technique is fun and I'll probably be trying it again.