Curiouser and curiouser

So last night at work, I made these two cards. The second one I made for my mother-in-law. She lost her husband about a year and a half ago, and I've been popping her cards ever since,,,,,,I worry about her. The first will probably go into the sell pile,,,,,,,,,

the funny part? I didn't realize until they were both done, that I made them using the SAME EXACT two papers,,,,,,,and I was amazed that I pretty much got two different looks. The first one I used a LaBlanche stamp on. I love LaBlanche stamps, but they did take some getting used to. A couple of tricks for really good stamping with LaBlanche,,,,,,,,use GOOD ink,,,,,I like either Versafine onyx black or Memento Tuxedo black,,,,,,Versafine beats out Memento just a teensie bit, but I have more colors of the Memento,,,,,,but when I want a nice, deep, dark, crisp stamp,,,,,,I pick up my versafine. (It was a bit too juicy when I bought it, so I had to sop up some of the ink with a paper towel, but now we are getting along just fine!)

The papers I used on both cards is K and Company botanical. GORGEOUS paper,,,,,,love it. I stamped the Lablanche bunny stamp on water color paper so that I could use my water color pencils without warping,,,,,,,another trick for stamping and water coloring with LaBlanche (or any stamp). Watercolor paper is FANTASTIC for this! Nice and heavy too! The butterfly is a punch by Martha Stewart,,,,,,,,large monarch butterfly punch, and I've used it a TON in just the two weeks since I bought it. Flower is recollections that I tipped a bit with purple water colors. The Nesties are Labels 4.

I like the bunny card,,,,,,,,but it looks a little "Easterish" to me,,,,,,

which is why I surprised myself when I made the second card for my Mother in law,,,,,

it doesn't look the LEAST Easterish to me,,,,,,,must be the bunny. Hm.

anyway, on that card I used the daisy fan deep edge punch by Martha Stewart and then embossed with the Textile embossing folder,,,,,the ribbon treatment is easy once you practice a bit,,,,,simply run a line of good adhesive and fold over and over again, keeping the folds to roughly the same size, sticking down as you go,,,,,,simple!

I layered my favorite black 3/8 inch velvet ribbon over the ribbon treatment,,,,,and then layered a string of pearls on top,,,,,,,finished off with some Recollections pearls and gems,,,,and a stick pin which, IMHO, is one of the biggest bang for your ELCHEAPO buck there is out there,,,,,and voila,,,,,,,easy, simple card,,,,,,I hope my Mother in law likes it,,,,it's being mailed in a clear box because it's simply too bulky for a regular envelope or a clear envelope.

Hope you enjoyed!