Hugs and Kisses

Happy Sunday, my crafty friends! :o)

I have a sweet and summery card to share today, which was such fun to make. It was inspired by summertime, sweet children, and nature's beauty. (And my sweetheart, because he's amazing.)

"Hugs and kisses"

There was so much joy in creating this. The papers are My Mind's Eye Miss Caroline Howdy Doody, which I adore and have been anxious to use. The precious little girl is Pati's Kisses, a digital stamp by the amazing Elisabeth Bell. I love her! I colored her with Copics and added Star Dust to her belt, the ruffled trims on her shirt, and the flowers on her headband. One especially fun aspect to this card is that I had my first attempt at making a landscape. I used Bev Rochester's cloud template and Tim Holtz Broken China Distress Ink to surround her with puffy clouds. When making this card I envisioned the heartwarming sight of little girls joyously playing outside with their stuffed animals. I made her a tiny hill with varying shades of green for dimension, ending with a few blades of grass tickling her feet. Child-like innocence and a pure love are two of the most beautiful things... both are represented in this. :o)

I used Spellbinders Labels Four for the image, making the mat a buttery yellow to symbolize the scene being enveloped in a warm, sunshiny hug. A divine hug, which entails the utmost warmth. Two itty bitty butterflies, dotted with a pearl, are being guided by love... to Spellbinders Fanciful Holiday filigree hearts. I cut out two of them in the same gingham as the middle layer and nestled them partially within the base... like little love notes that we tuck away in a drawer.

Unfortunately, the flower/pearl cluster is blurry, but is truly beautiful. Everything is from Wild Orchid Crafts. The pink and yellow two-tone flowers not only go well with the paper, but I love them for a summery-inspired card because they remind me of strawberry lemonade. :o) The petals are trimmed in Star Dust and I tucked in a few gorgeous pearl sprays.

Since flowers and lace always make a great combo, I used my Martha Stewart Doily Lace Edge Punch for the gingham layer. My favorite Wild Orchid Crafts Guipure lace is adhered to the bottom. The sweet sentiment is from the Whimsical Designs~ With Love stamp set, which I used atop an Art Philosophy tag. The larger butterfly is from the Martha Stewart Small Monarch punch, lined with pearls and given a tiny pearl trail. The papers throughout are inked with Tim Holtz Walnut Stain and I used my sewing machine to stitch around the top layer. I couldn't stop using pearls, so I added a tiny corner decoration of three sizes to complete my card. :o)

Challenges entered:
 * Belles and Whistles~ Use Butterflies
 * Digi Bells DT~ Flowers (March Digi Release Blog Hop)
 * Elphine House~ Pearls and Lace

Thank you for fluttering on by! I hope your day sparkles with love, hugs, and blessings. :o)

Key Recipe Components:
 * Cricut Cartridge: Art Philosophy
 * Spellbinders: Fanciful Holiday, Labels Four Nestabilities
 * Paper: Core'dinations, My Mind's Eye, Papertrey Ink
 * Sentiment stamp: Whimsical Designs~ With Love
 * Image stamp: Elisabeth Bell~ Pati's Kisses
 * Copics: E0000, E000, E00 (skin); E25, E29, E31, E50 (hair); R22, R24, R27, B91, B95, B97 (clothing); YR20, YR21, YR24 (teddy bear); YG17, YG23, G28 (grass)
 * Flowers, pearl sprays, Guipure Lace: Wild Orchid Crafts
 * Butterfly punches: Fiskars (small butterflies), Martha Stewart Small Monarch
 * Border Punch: Martha Stewart Doily Lace Edge Punch
 * Tim Holtz Inks: Broken China, Walnut Stain
 * Miscellaneous: Pearls (Recollections and Queen & Company); Stickles