Friday, July 1, 2011

Young Crafters Unite Blog Hop!



Hello all and welcome to my post for the Young Crafters Unite Blog Hop! Incidentally, this is my first time participating in a blog hop, so I hope everything goes smoothly. =P Young crafters (of all ages!) are participating in this hop, and there's some great giveaways for some lucky commenters. Personally, I feel like no matter how old I get, crafting will always keep me young. I feel like a kid at Christmas every time I get a delivery from one of my online crafting stores. In fact, I refer to the packages as "presents". =) Also, I'm pretty sure taking some time out to craft is keeping me from aging prematurely from the stress of my "regular life"!
As you can see from the graphic there, the theme is "our favorite things," and we were asked to make a project incorporating our favorite product, technique, color....anything! Frankly, I think I suffered a little from so much freedom. I had a hard time settling on what I was going to do. Since it was clearly impossible for me to choose one favorite product from my stash, I finally decided on picking a favorite theme. The theme I chose was "butterflies". I have a weakness for butterflies. When I was doing this project, I discovered 2 butterfly stamps I didn't know I had. =) I also have this fantastic Mariposa Matstack from DCWV which I knew would have the perfect paper for my card. It's full of beautiful paper and almost every piece has a butterfly on it somewhere! So here's the final outcome:






In addition to being covered with butterflies, this card also features many other favorites. Besides the paper already mentioned it has:
  1. My newest favorite card layout. Found it in this fantastic magazine.
  2. Core'dinations carstock - those beautiful turquoise pieces are all from one sheet.
  3. Distress Inks - I used Vintage Photo to edge the pieces and Stormy Sky to stamp the flourishes and sentiment.
  4. My brand new (just received this week!) Martha Stewart butterfly punch. I've been seeing this on other people's projects for ages and finally broke down and got it. I'm so excited to use it on more projects! =)
  5. Flowers custom colored with my Copic Markers. (The one I used here was R37)
  6. Adirondack Alcohol Inks. I colored the sequins in the flowers' middles with Butterscotch. I love these inks!
  7. And last but not least, Rock Candy Distress Stickles. You can kind of see them on the butterfly in this close-up:


In addition to a new project, we can also include a link to a favorite post from the past, and I chose this one. It also has a butterfly on it. =)

Well I hope you all are enjoying the hop. You should have come from Neha's blog, and your next stop is Tania's blog. Don't forget to leave some comment love for these talented ladies! Also, here is the link to our lovely host site, Young Crafters Unite. Have fun!

Just want to end with one more pic that makes me smile:


As you can see, I keep all my important supplies under this window, including my Crafting Cat. =)

Thanks for looking!

*~M~*


57 comments:

  1. This is very pretty!!! That butterfly puch is one of my all time faves & I use it tons!!! Isn't it too much fun! I love butterflies!!!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Alcohol inks are some of my favorites to! Great card.

    ReplyDelete
  3. cats are awesome....and your card is very nice...I have always loved the mariposa paper.

    scraptaculardesigns.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete
  4. Such a great card! I love the interesting panels and the fabulous butterfly =) Thank you so much for joining our bloghop!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Is your crafting cat keeping card of all your supplies??

    ReplyDelete
  6. Pretty card! I love butterflies too!

    ReplyDelete
  7. This card has a butterfly which is enough to make me fall in love with it.. I love butterflies...TFS..!!

    Hugs,
    Khush

    ReplyDelete
  8. Hi Mary, ooh I love butterflies too! :) Love the colours on your pretty card, TFS!

    ReplyDelete
  9. I LOVE the colors you used on this card! I;m regretting not buying the Mariposa stack when it came out! I like the grid design, it contrasts nicely with all the organic shapes of the paper, flowers and butterfly! TFS!

    ReplyDelete
  10. I love your card, the way you combinated the patterned paper with the butterfly and flowers.. so beautiful! And your cat is super cute :)

    ReplyDelete
  11. Panel cards are some of my favorite! I just love how all the parts work together for a beautiful whole. Great card! Great kitty :)
    Kim Marie

    ReplyDelete
  12. Beautiful card, I like butterflies too!

    ReplyDelete
  13. Your crafty cat looks like a lot of fun! Beautiful card too!

    ReplyDelete
  14. love the craft cat, I have two!

    ReplyDelete
  15. Beautiful layout and love the embellies!

    ReplyDelete
  16. This is a lovely card! I have a thing about butterflies too!

    ReplyDelete
  17. Thanks for showing us your kitty. Oh, I also liked your card. I'm a kitty lover, though!

    ReplyDelete
  18. i love the crafting cat! Butterflies are a weakness of mine as well :)

    ReplyDelete
  19. beautiful card. I also have recently brought the same butterfly punch and I must say it is one of the loveliest punch I have.

    ReplyDelete
  20. Love the colours you've used! Gorgeous crafting cat too... ;-)

    ReplyDelete
  21. great detail on the card. I like the layout too.

    ReplyDelete
  22. I'm also just getting my hands on the same butterfly punch. Can't wait to do some punching myself after seeing it on so many cards.

    ReplyDelete
  23. Stunning Card! I have a cat who thinks that if I sit down in my crafting chair it is an open invitation to jump up and get some love. Hmmm maybe what he really wants is his own crafting table! LOL I am a new follower:) http://visionsofpaper.blogspot.com/

    ReplyDelete
  24. What a neat layout for a card! I might have to try that sometime. And LOL about the crafting cat!

    ReplyDelete
  25. So very lovely! And I have THREE cats, so you can only imagine (grin). Thanks for sharing!

    I am now a follower of your blog. So very nice to meet you! Stop by my blog sometime and give me a shout out!

    http://lillianchild.blogspot.com

    And a HAPPY July 4th to you and yours!

    ReplyDelete
  26. Beautiful card - love your details!

    ReplyDelete
  27. Just Lovely! I don't have a crafting cat, but my dog does like to nap on the floor at my feet when I craft :)

    ReplyDelete
  28. Mary this is lovely! I just adore your panel layout :) I completely understand your weakness for butterflies I suffer from it too!!

    ReplyDelete
  29. this is so pretty! love the butterfly and flowers! :)

    ReplyDelete
  30. LOVE your card - the colors are some of my faves and I LOVE florals and butterflies!

    I too am a kitty lover (5 furbabies of my very own) and I have a few who hang out by my craft room door for love anytime I am in here! One is asleep by the door as I type. :)

    ReplyDelete
  31. beautiful card and love the crafty cat.

    ReplyDelete
  32. I too bought this MS butterfly punch and use it for most cards - it is sooooooo pretty.

    ReplyDelete
  33. Love your card, Mary! The colours and the addiction of flowers and butterflies is really cute! Thanks for sharing! :D

    ReplyDelete
  34. Ps: I miss my kitties! They are back home with my parents. I love how your cat is perched on the cabinet :) My babies would insist on approving every project I made with a sniff :D

    ReplyDelete
  35. So pretty Mary. Love the lovely paper... the embellishments are perfect (the colors are gorgeous).

    ReplyDelete
  36. Beautiful card. I LOVE that Mariposa paper!! Thanks for sharing! :)

    ReplyDelete
  37. I love this card LO! I've been seeing that butterfly everywhere and I really want to get it too. It has so many great purposes! I also have that paper stack and it's just gorgeous. I thought it was very funny that you love getting your "presents" in the mail. I say the same thing and get so excited too! LOL Lovely card. TFS!

    Be sure to stop by my blog to enter my 500 followers giveaway!


    XO ~ Amy Jo
    amyjrockstar at gmail dot com
    http://lv2scrapandfibrofacts.blogspot.com/

    ReplyDelete
  38. Love the butterfly and I'm a huge core'dinations fan.

    ReplyDelete
  39. Love your card! And I love your cute kitty!

    ReplyDelete
  40. Like your color combo. The three pieces fit so well together.

    ReplyDelete
  41. You have a great layout on your card. I'm going to look for the paper, it's beautiful. Thank you for sharing.

    ReplyDelete
  42. So pretty! I love the layout of this card & it looks like a great way to use some scraps too! Your cat is soooo cute!!

    ReplyDelete
  43. Beautiful card, i love butterflies too and that shade or blue.

    ReplyDelete
  44. Wonderful layout with flowers and butterflies. But the crafting cat made me laugh. I have a piano dog. He hasn't gotten into stamping with me yet. But from your picture there is hope! :)

    ReplyDelete
  45. THANKS for sharing~~I LOVE your card and the colors are so pretty!! =) Have a FABULOUS WEEK!! =)

    ReplyDelete
  46. I love the vintage-feel yet it's so colorful and modern! Love it!
    -Elaine Uhl
    http://createNstamp.blogspot.com/

    ReplyDelete
  47. Love the layout and so obsessed with butterflies right now!

    ReplyDelete
  48. Hehe, I love cat pictures! That paper is gorgeous, and I can see why you wanted to feature it. I love how you chose blue for the butterfly. It's an untraditional color to first choose but works amazingly well on your creation. Love! Thank you so much for joining us on the Young Crafters Unite blog hop!

    ReplyDelete
  49. Your style speaks to my heart. Very nice.

    ReplyDelete
  50. Very pretty--I like the papers and colors and the butterfly.

    ReplyDelete
  51. Pretty card, love the butterfly. 80)

    ReplyDelete
  52. Mary, your card designs are just beautiful! And I love your Crafting Cat. I have one of those, too. :-)

    ReplyDelete

Thank you to everyone who takes the time to comment. I really appreciate your kind words and encouragement! =)

Followers