Blue Butterfly Birthday Card

 Happy New Year!

Rick and I wish you the very best new year yet, filled with family and friends, laughter and contentment.  Hope you will take time to stay creative in the days ahead, and not get too busy to take time for yourself.   I find my whole outlook on life is much brighter when I've been creating something.  Now I'm not saying everything I make is share-worthy, but it still brightens my day when I've been puttering in my craft room.  And if I can get someone to play with me, that's even better!  Anybody ready to make the trip south for a visit?  I'm ready for some stamp therapy with my friends.  Until you can get here, I'll just keep on keeping on.

Today I have a pair of cards that are similar and use many of the same products.  They are just put together a little differently.  They both start with a Misty Moonlight card base cut at 8 1/2" x 5 1/2", scored and folded in half. The first layer is Basic White cardstock cut at 5 1/4" x 4".  Cut two of these so you're all set for the inside of the card when you're ready.

When it comes to the next layers, this is where the changes come in.  For this design, the next layer of Misty Moonlight is cut at 3 1/2" square.  The Beauty of the Earth Designer Series Paper is cut at 3 1/4" square.  I love this print with its water-color droplets of pale Misty Moonlight through out.  The colors are perfect together, and the leafy print can be used for so many reasons.  They are attached together with adhesive, then attached to the card front with adhesive also.

TIP:  Before I layered the pieces together, I die-cut a butterfly from the Misty Moonlight layer.  This is a great way to cut a little bulk from your cards while conserving some of your cardstock.  Win-win there!

The butterfly die is part of the Brilliant Wings Dies.  If you look close, you'll see a solid butterfly underneath that's die-cut from Vellum Cardstock.  I wanted to have more of a division between the DSP and the butterfly.  (It was interesting trying to take pictures of this.  The vellum underneath had a tendency to make it look out of focus.)  The butterfly is attached to the vellum with Mini Glue Dots, then attached to the card front with Mini Dimensionals.

The sentiment is from last fall's Sale-a-bration.  I debated about using it, but it really was exactly what I wanted for this card.  Something that was more out there instead of a simple happy birthday.  So, bear with me while I use some retired stuff.  OK?  It was stamped with Misty Moonlight ink on Basic White.  The Basic White piece is 2 1/2" x 1 1/4" and is attached to a layer of Misty Moonlight cardstock that is 2 3/4" x 1 1/2".  This was attached to the card front using Dimensionals to give it a little extra lift.

Can you see the tiny little brass butterflies on the card?  They are new in the upcoming mini catalog.  They have adhesive on the back so they're just too simple to pop on your card wherever you want!  Just too cute!

Here's the other version of the card.  I had a smaller piece of the Designer Paper on hand that I decided to use.  I mean, I always need birthday cards, so why not make another one since everything is already out and ready to use.  The DSP is only 2 3/4" square and the Misty Moonlight piece is 3" square.  On this card, this layer was put on with Dimensionals too.  The butterfly was treated the same way as the first card.

The sentiment layers are also the same size as the first card.  I just moved the layers around a little to fill out the card in a pleasing way.  In that big white area near the bottom, I added 3 Rhinestone Basic Jewels to give it some balance.  The jewels were colored with a Misty Moonlight Stampin' Blends for color to match.

There you have it - the same products but still a different look.  Sometimes you just have to make adjustments to your plans depending on what you've got to work with.  And just because you start out with one idea, nothing says you can't go off in another direction to see where it takes you.  Just have FUN!

I want to wish you a very blessed new year ahead.  Each year the slate is wiped clean and you are starting out fresh again.  Set different goals for yourself - realistic goals.  Then sit down and figure out all the little steps needed to reach your new goals.  Work on those first little steps, and don't get overwhelmed by the big picture.  And yes, I'm talking to myself here!  This is what I need to do too.  Boy, I've sure spent a bunch of time pontificating today.  Guess that's what happens at the end of one year and the beginning of another.  Ok, I'll get off my soapbox now and just wish you a

Happy New Year!!!!

Blessings,

Sharon