Spring Has Sprung! (Which means more butterflies)

The weather here today was GORGEOUS! I could hardly stand being inside while the sun was so bright and warm, so I called up my girlfriend and we went out. Loved it!

A week or so ago, I made a great spring-inspired card from the color challenge over at Fab Friday, and today seemed like the perfect day to share it.

I love how this card turned out! It's got so many great details. The Honeycomb Textured Embossing Folder with little hexagons of DSP in it? LOVE! I also pulled in the same DSP along the edge to give the card some cohesion. The pink butterfly is simply punched out of a different piece of DSP (from the same pack) with some Basic Pearls down the middle. The small butterfly was stamped in that lovely Island Indigo and then punched out, and then I added pearls for the body.

There's a lovely Sahara Sand floral background along the right side of the card, and I like the way it "grounds" the butterflies.

Then, of course, to tie it all together, is the fun Baker's Twine along the bottom. I just wrapped it around a few times and tied a knot (since I really suck at little tiny bows! haha). The tag below the knot was the very last thing I added to the card, and I just love how well it brings everything together. Like it's tied up in a neat little gift package or something.

And like I said earlier, this card was inspired by Fab Friday's FabFri14 color challenge, though I did "cheat" a little and use Island Indigo instead of the second pink color.  ;)

FMS#73 and Pop-Up Posies Designer Kit

 At a recent Demonstrator group meeting (Hello, fellow Positive Inkers!!), I won the Pop-Up Posies Designer Kit in a raffle. How exciting! I never win raffles, so I was pretty stoked. This adorable kit is featured in our Spring Catalog, which you can view by clicking here. This kit is fabulous -- and it's got so many uses! I decided to use the "tag" elements to make a card front for this week's Freshly Made Sketches challenge, and voila!

Isn't it adorable? I love the tiny little "baking cups" it comes with; they give the flowers such a great aspect of dimension. (Though I must admit, part of the reason I was so excited to win this particular raffle prize is that I am sorely tempted to use these paper cups to make itty-bitty cupcakes!! How freaking cute would that be? Anyway, back to the card.)

The tag base already had the lovely outline detail, so I just stamped a quick "Just for You" greeting on it (which is perfect for literally any occasion, by the way). It also fits the FMS#73 sketch so well: 

I love "re-purposing" things like this, finding new uses for stamp elements and making them work where they weren't intended. 

What are some of your favorite "non-traditional" uses for stamps, tags, or any other crafty item?

Card Details
Cardstock: Very Vanilla, Soft Suede
Tools and Accessories: Pop-Up Posies Designer Kit (includes tag base, flowers, paper cup, fabric-covered brad, and "Just for You" stamp), Square Lattice Textured Impressions Embossing Folder (for the Big Shot), Summer Starfruit ribbon
Ink: Black StazOn inkpad
Colors in Kit: Calypso Coral, Summer Starfruit, Pool Party, Very Vanilla