A catch-up on cards post

I have three more cards to share with you tonight.  I seem to accumulate the pictures and post them all at once.  I should do one-a-day like most bloggers to keep you interested, but I can't seem to post every day.  Oh well, here they are!

The above card uses a Martha Stewart sticker that I purchased at Goodwill.  Why was it at Goodwill, you may ask?  Some of the pearls were missing from the cake so perhaps that was why.  If you look closely you will see that the pearls are a little different.  I "replaced" the missing pearls with some pearl-like glue.  If I hadn't pointed it out, you probably never would've noticed, right?  The banner is from Bountiful Banners by Papertrey Ink.

I love this card.  It uses the Chevron Cutting Plate from Taylored Expressions. I sponged an ombre assortment of colors on a shiny piece of photo paper and put it behind the cut out.  Then I fussed for about 20 minutes making that bow.  I hate fussing - I am very impatient.  I will probably never, ever make this bow again, but damn if doesn't look awesome!  I can never mail it so I have no idea what I am going to do with it!  For now it is sitting on my work table as a reminder of my awesomeness! :)

My last card uses the Swallowtail stamp from Stampin' Up. A while back I stamped this image on Tangerine Tango and embossed it in black.  I then took a paint brush dipped in bleach and water and "painted" on the cardstock to make lighter areas.  Sometimes you just have to paint with bleach to get the look you desire.  It came out beautifully, but I had no idea what to do with it.  Then I saw a card in a magazine that placed this butterfly in a square, with a stamped saying (not the one I used).  The light bulb went on and this swallowtail had a new home.  The saying is from Butterfly Dreams by Papertrey Ink. The other colors are Island Indigo and Black.  I actually used my diagonal scoring plate from Stampin' Up for the first time.  Needless to say there is a bit of a learning curve and this was NOT my first attempt at a criss-cross background.  A few pearls added where the diamonds intersect to give it a quilted look and here's what I made.  Hope you like - Heidi