Home is the Nicest Place to Be

I've been having the best time creating cards that have been on my mental "to-make"  list! When I set out to make this particular card, I didn't necessarily have a theme in mind since I was just using some leftover pieces from another project.  I knew I would be using the bow and the flowers and foliage (with the exception of the corners). The colors could work nicely for all kinds of different themes and my first inclination was baby, but as the creative juices started flowing, this is what I ended up with!

I can't seem to stop making plaid backgrounds using the  Show Your Stripes Stencil Collection! I simply use it on the front side and then I flip the stencil over and stencil it again on the backside. Since this particular stencil has a diagonal stripe, it gives the plaid a unique look. I did end up by using Pixie Spray on the stencil so I could get crisp lines. I used an adhesive eraser all over the panel to remove any residue.

I used the beautiful Reflections: John 1 Die for the border piece. I layered it over the top of the plaid stencil panel, using foam squares. I also die cut the smallest oval included in the Love to Layer: Ovals Die from Papertrey Ink and attached it using foam squares. As I mentioned earlier, I already had the flowers, leaves, and bow left over from another project, so I simply attached them to the top of the oval. It was at this point that I decided I might try putting a house on there and of course I fell right in love!

The house die is from the Bring Home the Holidays Die and is cut from white cardstock with some Aqua Mist ink blended over the top. I was looking through my stash to try and find something that said welcome to the neighborhood and I happened upon the Larger Thank Life Die and coordinating stamp set. I just loved how the crisp white word looked at the bottom.

I heat embossed one of the companion sentiments and added it to the bottom. The die also includes a few little hearts, so I added some color with a blender brush and added one to the top of the house. I used the corner decor, stamp, set and coordinating. Die to gussy up two of the corners. Each one got a heart as well to continue with the theme. As you can see, I also decorated an envelope. I usually hand deliver welcome to the neighborhood cards, so this one has a little bit more detail than I usually do. 

I had an extra house so I decided to add it to the inside of the card with another sentiment stamped in gold ink. This was a really fun card to make even though I didn’t know what I was going to be creating when I started out! Thanks for fluttering by!