Washi what?

I will be the first to admit I'm not always on the cutting edge of what's hot in the craft world .OK not in  technology or fashion or music either but I will come around eventually. So if you are like me you may not have seen or even heard of Washi Tape. It originated in Japan and has the feel of thin masking tape. It comes in lovely colors and designs and you can really dress up a card or scrapbook page quickly with it. Here are a couple of cards with washi tape

 washi tape set: Gingham Garden
Stamp sets:
Flower Shop
Simply Sketched
Best of Greetings

Swarm of Butterflies

I knew this was going to be a great stamp set. This week I went butterfly crazy again with the Best of  25 years butterfly set available here
When you stamp on vellum and color from the reverse side the result is a beautiful, life-like image. After creating this card I have a surprise up my sleeve for a home decor project using the same technique. Check back in a few weeks for that one.

Stamped on Vellum and colored using Stampin' Up! ink and Blender pens

Here is a simple yet sophisticated card suitable for sending to anyone but particularly a father or husband or son who doesn't like all the frills. A butterfly card for a man. Yep I just did that. If i were sending this to my sister I would just change up the colors for something more pastel and add a little bling to each of the butterflies.

Use Stamp-a-ma-jig to line up stamps perfectly

Next up is another masculine example with butterflies. This one is for a young man who is graduating  high school this weekend. It's such a great feeling to be able to give a card you made with care rather than just something you bought. Both the butterflies and the word "congrats" are stamped using ink that matches the card stock color. I love the tone on tone look. One of the best bargains for beginning stampers is to buy a set of card stock and stamp pads together. I recommend the In-Color collection as a good place to start. The colors in these collections are changed every two years so you know they won't look outdated.

2012-2014 In-color collection
Two colors from the collection are featured below, Midnight Muse and Summer Starfruit.

Multiple embossed elements add depth to the image

Finally this is the most simple but perhaps the most elegant card of the week.  Done completely in Whisper white and Basic black card stock with Basic black ink for the stamps; this card is also for a specific event. My brother is getting married and nothing says wedding like black and white.