{Flutter} by Atomicbutterfly

Sunday, January 14, 2018

10 YEAR BLOG-IVERSARY!!!!

Welcome, Welcome! Today I am celebrating a BIG milestone...my blog turns 10 today! I can't believe it's been 10 YEARS! What a journey this has been...an amazing journey! I want to share a verse of song with you that I sang in church a few weeks ago that really struck a chord with me (no pun intended); it says" Our talents improve, by the patience of hope and the labor of love." This blog has definitely been a labor of love and I've definitely needed patience of hope many times when I felt like quitting and questioned why I was even continuing keeping up with it. For those of you who have been with me since the beginning, you know of my journey. While I set out to share my love of papercrafting, my life took a course that led away from my ability to share as often as I liked or wanted. I wouldn't trade my beautiful children for the world and I am so grateful for them. Things have gotten easier and I made a New Year's resolution at the beginning of 2017 that I would blog more. Wow! I am so glad that I did! It has been SO MUCH FUN getting back into the creative world and reconnecting with old friends and making new ones!

As I have shared my love of papercrafting this year, I have been introduced to so many new friends, companies, products, etc. Not only that, but I have had so many fun opportunities come my way that I am so grateful for! For a while, I felt like my time had come and gone and that there wasn't a place for me here anymore. That certainly isn't true and I'm happy to say that I didn't let the negativity get the better of me! I would encourage all of you, if you are struggling, to simply press forward! If you feel passion for something, it will always be a part of your life! My life has been so much happier, mentally, as I have taken the time to work on the things that bring me joy. Creating is a central point of my happiness and I am so thrilled to have this little place to call my own where I can share what I love! As a thank you, I am offering a $50 Papertrey Ink Gift Certificate to one of my lucky readers! Leave a comment on how you found my blog and I will draw a winner next Sunday the 21st!

I thought this sentiment said it perfectly and is from A life she loved from Taylored Expressions. I heat embossed it in white onto a strip of red cardstock. I stamped the paint brush image using black ink onto a piece of white cardstock and colored it using Copic Markers. After it was colored, I die cut it using the coordinating DIES. I added a little Wink of Stella to the paintbrush handles for some sparkle. Once they were cut, I added them onto a circle of Sea Glass cardstock to help ground the image.

For the background, I ran the Hexagon Die coverplate through my Cuttlebug, but I used the tan embossing pad so that it wouldn't cut, just emboss it. I wanted it to look more like a quilt and I like the embossed lines. After that was done, I ran it through again, but this time cutting it so that I would have the little Hexagons to stamp. I used the coordinating Happy Hexagons stamp set to stamp the images in a variety of colors. I adhered them to the background with foam squares for some dimension.

The entire focal panel was added to an A2 Sea Glass card base. This was such a fun card to make and I appreciate you stopping by today! Thanks for fluttering by!

Thursday, January 11, 2018

Color Throwdown #475 Big, HUGE thanks...and hugs!

I'm slowly...very slowly, getting a few thank you cards done for all of our fabulous Christmas gifts! I normally do it the week between Christmas and New Year's Day, but it didn't happen this year. At this pace, I might get done by NEXT Christmas! LOL! Anyway, I saw this week's Color Throwdown Challenge and knew I wanted to play along! I love the beautiful colors and I was in the mood to do some watercoloring!

Because I did a color wash using my Kuretake Gansai Tambi Watercolors, I have quite a color gradation between them, but I really like how the background turned out. I decided to just put down a lot of color using a flat brush onto a wet piece of 140 lb. cold pressed watercolor paper from Strathmore. I just kept adding color until I got the colors that I wanted. I sprayed it with Shimmer Spray while it was still wet and set it aside to start drying.

I hadn't made up my mind what stamps I would be using for the finished card, but ultimately decided on these cute hippos from the Happy Hippos stamp set from My Favorite Things. I've only used them the once on THESE cards, but they are some of my favorites! I decided it was time to pull them out again. I also paired them with the Words for Friends die set which is another favorite. I stamped the hippo using Palette Noir ink and then colored her using an assortment of gray markers. I also added a little bow colored turquoise to add in a little bit more of the colors from the challenge. I also die cut the hippo once she was colored.

Once the background was dry, I ran it through my Cuttlebug using a Next Level embossing folder from American Crafts. I just love how the watercolored piece looks embossed. It is one of my favorite techniques. You can see a few other examples HERE, HERE, and another one HERE. I haven't done it in a while so it was fun to try again.

The sentiment is heat embossed using some old silver detail powder from SU! I added it to the embossed panel using foam squares. The hippo is added as though she is standing on the panel, reaching up to add the "s" to the HUGS sentiment. Each letter is stacked 4 times using liquid glue and then colored using a pool colored copic marker to match the cardstock. I also added some Nuvo Glaze. I also added a few Sparkling Clear sequins from Pretty Pink Posh for some added interest and shine. The embossed piece is mounted onto a sheet of white cardstock and then added to an A2 card base using lots of foam squares. I had so much fun with this card! Thanks for fluttering by!

Monday, January 8, 2018

Merry Monday #272 Have a holly jolly Christmas!

Welcome to the second Merry Monday Christmas challenge of the year! It's been feeling strange to me that I am making new cards as I am busy trying to get Christmas all put away! LOL! This is the longest that it has EVER been up, but I am trying to take my time and get everything put away properly. Every year I miss a few things here and there and I just shove them under the stairs for me to stare at all year long! Ha Ha!

This week, Leanne asked us to create a card with glasses. I don't own any stamp sets with glasses, however, so mugs will just have to do! Ha ha!

I had so much fun making THIS card last year, so I was happy to get to use Cup of Cheer and the coordinating DIE. I've been using a lot of the same color combinations so I decided to go back to a traditional Christmas color palette, but with a pop of pink for some interest. To begin, I blended a 4 by 5 1/4 inch piece of white cardstock using Peeled Paint Distress Oxide Ink. I wanted a green that would complement the pink and I think this is just the ticket. I also spritzed it heavily with some Frost Shimmer Spray. I really like how it reacted with the oxide ink. I set that aside to dry and got to work on the sentiment and the cups/saucers/teapot.

I diecut quite a few of each image because I knew I wanted to stack them here and there for a strong presence, since that was the point of the challenge! Ha ha! I stamped them in a combination of pink, red and the foliage in the same Peeled Paint oxide ink as the background for a perfect match.

The sentiment is heat embossed using one of my favorite new embossin powders; Rose Gold by Altenew. I thought the Rose Gold would look nice against the pink and I was right! The sentiment panel is attached to the blended panel using foam squares for some dimension. I also added a few Sparkling Clear Sequins here and there using Tombow Multi Medium Matte and my Jewel Picker.

The cups, poinsettias and tea pot are stacked and scattered here and there for a fun and whimsical card! I also added a few drops of Bright Gold Nuvo Drops in the center of each poinsettia for some added gold detail and shine.

I had quite a few cups and flowers left over so I decided to add them to the inside with a "cup" sentiment. I think this set is so cute and I love all of the sentiments, but this is one of my favorites! I hope you'll get a chance to play along! Thanks for fluttering by!

Friday, January 5, 2018

Seasons Givings WINNER and a BIG thanks!

First of all, I would like to say THANK YOU to all of you who left such sweet comments on my Seasons Givings blog hop post as well as on my Love Coupon book post! You are all so sweet! I had so much fun reading all of your creative goals and aspirations for this year. We are all so much alike! It is so fun to be part of a community with such similar goals all the while working for a greater good! I sincerely hope that each of you remember these goals as the year continues, because all of them will bring joy to others, which in turn, will bring YOU joy! And, without further adieu, the WINNER IS comment #114 ANGELA WALTERS!!!!!!! CONGRATULATIONS! EMAIL ME YOUR ADDRESS AT kellyrory1@msn.com and I will send you your prize!

Normally, I create all of my holiday Thank you cards during the week between Christmas and New Years Day, but since I have been working on Christmas projects all year, I didn't feel the sense of "loss" as I pack away my Christmas stamps. I will be continuing on the Merry Monday Design Team all year, so I will be working on them each week. So, that means that I am behind on my holiday thanks. I decided to see if I could actually make a non-Christmas-y card and while I am VERY rusty, I like how this oxide ink card came out.

To begin, I blended Peeled Paint Distress Oxide Ink onto a piece of Bristol paper for a smooth blend. Normally I don't use Bristol paper with oxide inks because they are smoother than regular Distress inks, but it is DEFINITELY easier to get it smooth with this paper with less effort. I spritzed it with Shimmer Spray AND frost Shimmer Spray. I used both because I like the shine of the regular Shimmer Spray, but I like how the Frost Shimmer spray reacts with the oxide ink. I let that dry while I got to work on the flowers.

I didn't intend to stamp the flowers in Distress Ink when I was planning out my card, but in the end, I thought it would create a cohesive, smooth feeling card. The flowers and leaves are from Gran's Garden. The larger flowers are 3 step stamps, but since I chose Oxide ink, I only used the main, bold image. I really like how they turned out. The colors of the flowers and leaves are: Worn Lipstick, Peacock Feathers, Fossilized Amber, Antique Linen, and Peeled Paint.

After all of the flowers were stamped, I die cut them using the coordinating Gran's Garden Dies. The sentiment is from Graceful Greetings and is one of my favorites! I haven't used it for a while so I was happy to pull it out again. It is heat embossed in Rose Gold embossing powder for an elegant shine.

After the sentiment was on the focal panel, I got to work arranging all of the flowers. I just love creating floral arrangements on cards...it feels very organic, even if they are just paper! LOL! Once I was happy with the arrangement, I added a trio of Sparkling Clear Sequins around the sentiment for some shine.

I added some Bright Gold Nuvo Drops to the centers of the flowers as well as a few here and there to bring in more of the gold accents. I also had a few flowers left over, so I added them to the inside, but I forgot to snap a picture! Once everything was in place, I spritzed the entire card front again with Frost shimmer spray so that it would react with the flowers as well. Thanks for fluttering by and thanks again for stopping by during the hop!

Tuesday, January 2, 2018

Love Coupons and an exciting ANNOUNCEMENT!!!

*Scroll down to see my Seasons Givings Blog Hop post!

Welcome, friends! I hate keeping secrets, but when they're crafty secrets, it's DEFINITELY okay! LOL! I am so excited to announce that I will be on the Precious Remembrance Shop Design Team this year!!! I am beyond thrilled and I am IN LOVE with their stamps! They inspire me to create in one of my favorite styles that is definitely a part of me, but I haven't used in a while! I am so thrilled to be incorporating these stamps, embellishments and products into my designs! You can check out the shop HERE! As a special bonus, you can take 10% off of your online order by using code: DTKELLY10 on your order of $30 or more throughout the month of January! How awesome is that??

Before I dive into the details of my project, I'd like to introduce you to the rest of the 2018 Design Team.

You can find them here:

I'm so excited to be a part of this fabulous group and I want to say thank you for giving me this wonderful opportunity! Now that the introductions have taken place...on to the projects!!! I had SO much fun putting this together!

To begin, I created a "Coupon Book" using the Love Coupon stamp set and coordinating Bits and Pieces: Love Coupon. They all work together beautifully to create a fun project that looks like it took a lot of time, but is really do-able and also easily mass produced! Before I started with the stamping and embellishing, I create 6 pages, which includes the cover, to give the recipient 5 actual love coupons to redeem. I knew that I wanted to use these metal prong fasteners as the "binding" for the book and the "cut out and redeem" sentiment is the perfect size to stamp or emboss on the surface. I chose to heat emboss it in gold, but using a StazOn ink would work nicely as well. I measured the length of the fastener to help me decided how wide I needed to make the area where it would be secured. The pages are simply cut out of cardstock in pink, red and sea glass. This is one of my favorite Valentine color combos.The coupon pages are perforated so they can be easily torn out to be redeemed.

I spent the majority of my efforts on the cover and tag for the Paper Bag "envelope" . I had so much fun stamping and embossing all of the fun details to add here and there! I left the "to and from" sections empty because I was worried that my own handwriting might not turn out, so I left it blank for blogging purposes, but it will be so cute when it has my daughter's name splashed across the front! LOL! I'm excited to give this to her!

I chose the mini white doilies to be the anchor for the focal pieces because, c'mon....let's admit it...Valentine's Day is the official Doily holiday, am I right? LOL!I just love the feeling they give to projects like this! I always like to keep a stack on hand in a variety of colors!

Each beginning page of the actual coupons has a little tab that I added using some of the wonderful sentiments included in the set. I LOVE adding tabs to things and, like I mentioned before, haven't used these details in quite a while. I just love how the sentiments look embossed in gold. I added some zig zag machine stitching to the bottom of the bag (if you do this, keep in mind you will lose that bit of space from the bottom of the bag) as well as the cover of the book.

You can see the tabs a little bit better here.

For the inside pages, I used the Bits and PIeces: Love Coupon embellishments for the majority of the pages, but did add a few more of the fabulous sentiments here and there to keep the entire book cohesive. Once again, I will add the details of each "coupon" later. I just love how these pieces allow you to tailor it to your own personal needs.

I used a clothespin embellished with buttons and bits and pieces again as well as a bow of red baker's twine. I had so much fun on this project! Look out...there will be a lot more designs using these amazing stamps! I can't wait to get started! Thanks for joining me today at the beginning of this new journey and thanks for fluttering by!

Monday, January 1, 2018

Seasons Givings Blog Hop

Hello and Welcome to the Seasons Givings Blog Hop! I am beyond thrilled to be participating this year!! I have had good intentions for the last few years, but this is the first time I am participating! I just want to send a huge Thank You to Latisha Yoast for organizing and putting this together each year! Isn't she amazing?!? I also want to say thank you to ALL of YOU as well for stopping by to visit and taking time to comment! I have made so many friends from this industry that mean so much to me and now is a time to GIVE BACK!! My giveaway includes the "Sealed with a Bloom" wrapping paper book, a Rifle Paper Co. enamel pin, a Fringe prompted daily notepad and a Hot Buttered Rum candle from Anthropolgie. Each stop on the hop will be doing a giveaway of their own, so make sure to stop at each link (posted below).

I will only ship to the U.S. (sorry) and my giveaway will end on January 5th at 8:00 am MST. I will have a post go up that day notifying the winner. Thanks so much for joining me! Simply leave a comment with your hopes or a goal for the new year and I will randomly choose a winner! I have also posted a few of my most popular designs from 2017 if you'd like to take a look. They are below the link list. If you like my work, feel free to subscribe to my blog over on my sidebar and follow me on Instagram @kellylunceford.

Lawn Fawn

Technique Tuesday

Scrapbook Adhesives by 3L

CAS-ual Friday Stamps

My Sweet Petunia

Paper House Productions

Verve Stamps

Stamp Simply Ribbon Store

Catherine Pooler

Indigojade Art

A Jillian Vance Design

Zsoka Marko

Kelly Lunceford ( you are here)

Thanks for joining me for the Seasons Giving Blog hop and thanks for fluttering by!!!

Merry Monday #271-Not a creature was stirring!

Happy New Year!!! It's 2018...I can't believe it!!! Welcome to the first Merry Monday Christmas Challenge of the year! I feel kind of like the elves from the movie "Elf" when Santa finally returns from his delivery and he says, "Okay Elves, it's time to get ready for next year!" LOL! They cheer and I'm cheering, too! I had so much fun delivering all of my cards I made last year to friends and family and can't wait to make a whole new stash!!! I hope you'll find some time to join us this year!

Linda has asked us to create a card using either heat or dry embossing. This is definitely a challenge right up my alley! I generally add both of these details on the majority of my cards. For today's design, I chose to use heat embossing both with the background and sentiment.

To begin, I heat embossed the Snowfall background stamp using White Puff Powder onto a 4 by 5/14 inch piece of Sea Glass cardstock for a realistic effect. Once that was done, I spritzed it with FROST and SPARKLE shimmer spray and set it aside to dry. I got to work on the church by die cutting it twice out of Stamper's Select White Cardstock. I created the same type of church for a tag that you can see on THIS post, and I couldn't wait to use it again on a card. On the bottom church, I sponged some Mustard Seed distress ink using a sponge dauber for a nice glow to shine through the windows. I added the window trim using Multi Medium Matte and a precision bottle for those tiny areas. I just love the effect of the glowing windows.

The sentiment is heat embossed onto a strip of red cardstock using Antique Gold Embossing Powder for some added warmth and shine. The mice are stamped and die cut using the Christmas Critters Stamp set and coordinating DIES. I haven't used this set for a while so I was excited to use it again. I love this sentiment and have wanted to incorporate it onto a card like this for a while. I DO realize that a creature IS stirring and it most definitely IS a mouse! LOL! I just think it's so cute!

All of the details are adhered to the blue base using foam squares for lots of dimension. The mice ears have a bit of Wink of Stella for some shine. I had so much fun creating this card! I hope you join us this week! Thanks for fluttering by!