Two Birthdays and Two CASES

Hi everyone.  Today I'm here with a Happy Birthday wish for Chrissie (Simply One of a Kind).  Chrissie is well know throughout the crafting community as one of the original owners of the very popular Less Is More Challenge.  She is also now a team mate of mine on the Happy Little Stampers CAS Challenge. :)  I have long admired her AMAZING creations.  Chrissie has a special spot in her heart for butterflies, and I couldn't resist CASE'ing this gorgeous card.  Thank you Chrissie ... you are such an inspiration to me! :)  I know that Chrissie is away and celebrating her special birthday with her family.  Have a wonderful holiday and the best birthday EVER, Chrissie!  xx

The background was made last time I got together with my friend Susan (Cardmaker's Garret).  She shared a technique she had learned from her friend Christine, on how to use Inka Gold wax paste to make beautiful backgrounds.  You just spread a bit of the paste on your non-stick mat (I used Cobalt Blue, Jade Green, and Platinum).  Mist with lots of water and then drop your card stock on top and press down.  I pulled three pieces with just what I had on my mat.  The first one was the darkest and I used it for the solid butterfly, the second one was lighter and that's what I used for the main panel.  I have an even lighter one to use for another time. :)  Inka Gold pastes are metallic and have a shimmer and shine that you can't see in the photo, but are so pretty in real life.  I used silver embossing on some dots on the main panel and for the sentiment.

It's also my friend, Jules (Crafting with Jules) birthday!!!  Happy Birthday to you Jules!  Hope you have a wonderful day filled with joy and laughter!

I CASED this beauty from Jules blog.  It really is a shameful copy, actually.  The only thing I changed was the sentiment ... and the background is brushos on coated card stock instead of Jules beautifully sponged background. :)  I have long admired this card, and I thought it was a great opportunity to honour Jules today. :)

I have mailed off birthday cards to both Chrissie and Jules, but as always, I seem to get these things into the mail late.  Hopefully they will arrive shortly. :)

So I'm playing along with a few challenges this week.  I'm entering my butterfly card into Addicted to Stamps & More - CAS challenge ... and also entering it at Less is More where they are looking for snippets (my butterfly is a snippet!).  And speaking of snippets, I'm popping into the Snippets Playground too! :)  And I'm adding my Christmas tree card to the Happy Little Stampers July Christmas Challenge - Trees.

Edited to add:  Just found a new-to-me challenge at SSS (Work it Wednesdays) through another crafter's blog.  This month's it's die-cuts so I'm entering my butterfly card above.

Butterfly For You:

Stamps:  Gorgeous Grunge, A Word for You (SU!)
Paper:  White (Neenah)
Ink:  Versamark
Accessories & Tools:  Inka Gold wax pastes (Cobalt blue, Jade Green, Platinum), water mister, Moonlight and Kaleidoscope Butterfly dies (Memory Box), silver embossing powder (Ranger)

Thinking of You at Christmas:
Stamps:  Vignette: Tree Silhouettes (STAMPlorations); Beautiful Season - sentiment (SU!)
Paper:  White card base (Neenah); Coated Card stock (unknown)
Ink:  Brushos (turquoise, purple); Copics; Versamark; Pear Pizzazz (SU!)
Accessories & Tools:  water mister, Snow drifts dies (My Favorite Things), White embossing powder, Shabby Chic Frantage (Stampendous), heat tool

Challenges:

ATS&M #154 - CAS
Less is More #234 - Snippets
Snippets Playground #187
HLS July Christmas - Tree
SSS Work it Wednesdays - Die-cuts