My friend Margi also attended the retreat. This was her Shoebox Swap card. The background was a folder/die hybrid that she has that came from Marianne Designs, I think. The flourish is a CheeryLynn die and the center flower looks like the Tilth flower die from Memory Box. The butterflies may be a die, or maybe the Martha Stewart punches. I love her color choices, and the over all affect is soft but eye catching.

This cute baby card was my friend Lynnor's Shoebox swap kit that we put together at the retreat. What a  great card it turned out to be.It's pretty easy to figure out how she did it, using punches and small baby item stamps. The drawer pulls are mini brads.

Edge Punched card

I made this card while I was at the retreat also, using the technique my friend Lynnor taught me, using border punches to decorate the sides. The floral image is a Stampin'Up set I have had for a while but had never used. I adhered a piece of Bo Bunny's Serendipity on the inside of the card to give some contrast. I color matched the half pearls using Copic markers.

More Cards I've Made

This is a card I made for our May Retreat, it was the sample for the shoebox kits we did and exchanged. I used the Just Rite Seahorse set with the Spellbinders Labels 22 die set. Also, lots of Ranger distress inks.

Hootnannies detail photo.

I thought I would show you some detail. The stamp has bare bones outlines. All the fine detail you have to add yourself. The branch he is standing on was drawn by me also. Gotta love those eyes!

Hootnannies

I discovered a great set of owl stamps from Loraliie Art Stamps called Hootnannies. They are great fun, especially if you are a Zentangler. It's amazing how you can  dress these little guys up with a good Micron or Copic fine point pen.  This one was colored with Copic markers.

This is a sample A2 card I made for the store. The Essex label die from from Memory Box was not selling, so I used it here to  pop up the Fabulous Friends saying. I found an old piece of Bo Bunny's Persuasion to use as a background paper on a mauvy pink Bazzil cardstock. I stippled it all with the Tim Holtz stippler applicator. The butterfly was a total mistake. I used one from the My Favorite Things Butterfly set and  stamped it with a pink pigment ink on vellum. I had intended to heat emboss the butterfly with clear embossing powder, but accidently poured on Heat & Stick powder. When I applied heat, it started to bubble and I realized my mistake, so I grabbed a jar of Crystal Art Glitter and sprinkled it on the butterfly. So, everywhere there is pink ink, there is now pink colored glitter. It turned out great. I love happy mistakes. I used the scalloped corner punch for all the corners and placed some clear bling in each coener, then colored them with R85 Copic marker.