Japanese Gatefold 2

This is the inside:

I absolutely love making oriental-themed cards. This stamp was a Goodwill (thrift store) find for only $1.99! I keep hitting that same thrift store with my fingers crossed from time to time...but alas, I think it was a one-time treasure find. Still--I am tenacious; and thrift stores have a fabulous way of surprising you! :)

Anyway, a little about the card... The sentiment is difficult to read in this photo, but it's a quote by Emily Dickinson: "We turn not older with the years, but newer every day."

The challenges are as follows:

1) Truly Scrumptious Challenge #8 Multiple Folds

2) Secret Crafter Challenge #33 New Beginnings

Here is the outside. I kept it minimal because I wanted to evoke a feel of shoji doors:

Materials used:
DCWV Textured 5.5x5.5 Gatefold card (clearance $3 at Hobby Lobby)
Hot Off the Press "Retro Daisies" 8x8 paper
Studio G pink pigment ink (for edges)
Flower is a disposable coaster
Vellum sentiment from JoAnns $1 rack
Cotton crochet thread (natural)
White eyelets/brads

Thanks to everyone for visiting! Don't forget to enter for my blog candy before June 6th!

Have a wonderful day,

--Kathryn

A Poppy...

This card comes direct from the scrap-bin, (excepting the brads and flower)...

SO... this lets me play in two challenges this week:

1) Papertake Weekly Scrap This! and

2) Creative Card Crew Pretty Flowers!

Supplies used:

Kraft mini white dot

My Mind's Eye (brown & orange floral)

DCWV "Green Stack" (70% recycled)

orange and brown brads

silk flowers

chocolate chip and tan cardstock

The stamp is from the Anna Griffin Flora set (a favorite!), and colored with Crayola pencils.

I love all kinds of flowers, but this botanical illustration in particular reminds me of many wonderful plant-identification hikes with my own mother, who trained as a botanist. What special moments we shared on those hikes and in our own garden and walking around plant nurseries! I tend to think now that all that time we spent in the garden together was not only great learning and enjoyment for us both; but a large part of our becoming best girl-friends, as we still are today.

Mothers--bring your daughters with you into the garden; for I am quite sure neither of you will ever regret it!

Incidentally, this poppy was just in time for Memorial Day as well.

Given the significance of this American holiday, yesterday morning I started reading 1776 by David McCullough. WOW! I have always loved history--even the dry, textbook kind... but McCullough's writing is so very alive. I recommend it highly.

Thank you all for visiting, and don't forget to enter for my blog candy giveaway by June 6th! :)

Have a beautiful day!
--Kathryn

Vibrant Butterfly

....a little detail...
Usually I just forget about my alpha stickers until I do a scrapbook page (which has been an embarassingly long time!), but challenge #60 at Cute Card Thursday is Letters and Numbers; so I dug out these cardstock stickers from Cloud 9 Design (a BigLots find for $1). The butterfly and use of my Cuttlebug machine also let me play in the Cuttlebug "Hearts and Butteflies" challenge this week.

The patterned cardstock is DCWV "Green Stack"

Rub-ons are MiniMarks (also BigLots clearance find)

Ribbon from Michaels

The butterfly (Anna Griffin flora collection) is stamped in Black archival ink and embossed with clear powder, then colored with colored pencils.

...Here's the inside...

Thanks for visiting and have a marvellous day all,

--Kathryn