Sew and Sew {Cardz 4 Galz}

Hello, blogging friends and visitors! It's great to see you this morning, and I hope you are doing well.
It's typical summer weather in Florida - HOT AND STEAMY!
But I love where we live, and it would take something very important to make us move away.

Time for a new challenge at Cardz 4 Galz Challenges today!
Badges are awarded for the Spotlight Winner and Top Picks.

Challenge #50 is chosen by teamie Caz -and the theme is:

  Sew and Sew  

Show us your sewing themed cards using any technique and medium!
Challenge ends on July 5.

Today's design celebrates the birthday of a very special friend who has been there for me time and again! It's different from anything I've made before, and anything she would expect; however, I am using her favorite citrus colors - tangerine, lime, lemon - those are colors she loves.

The collage is comprised of freebies from The Graphic Fairy and Create with TLC,

then colored with Copic Markers and Distress Inks.

A little stitching down the side of the lacy punch panel, and a couple coats of clear EP on the butterflies to help them match the gloss on the buttons:

Products Used:

• A collage created with several images from "Create with TCL" and "The Graphics Fairy"
• sentiment computer generated
• colored with Distress Inks, Copic Markers
• SW pierced rectangles
• rick rack and buttons from my Great Aunt Agnes
• Clear EP on the butterflies for texture, embossing folder triangles
• Stitching on the black card stock panel punched with MS border lace punch

Challenges I'd like to play in please:

1. A Perfect Time to Craft Open Challenge #6 - Anything Goes 7/1
2. Butterfly Spot Challenge #14 Bingo Card (Buttons, Butterflies, Bows - rick rack) 6/28
3. Classic Design Team Open Challenge #15 - Anything Goes DT 7/1
4. Crafting With An Attitude #28 - Anything Goes 7/6
5. Crafts Galore Encore JUNE - Anything Goes 7/1
6. Crafty Girls Creations - Anything Goes 7/6
7. Dragonfly Dreams (June) Make it Sparkle 7/2 (green frame is glittered, butterflies are coated with clear EP to make them shine)
8. Making Memories Crafting #6 Anything Goes/Bingo Board (diagonally from top right BLING - IMAGE - DIE CUT  7/7
9. World Wide Open Design Team Challenge #23 - Anything Goes DT 7/15
10. Path of Positivity Challenge #50 (please read below)

Although the theme FAITH, HOPE, LOVE are not wedding related in my card,

they are about the importance of RELATIONSHIPS.

I was inspired by my treasured friend during the creation of this project (especially the asymmetry, colors, and vintage style). It is nothing like she would expect, nor anything like I've made in the past.

Although symmetry is what many of us prefer in our lives, this card is a reminder that the best times in our lives are unexpected, occurring when and where we least expect them, and coming from the least likely source(s).

The “base” is a digital collage including:

Friendship based on a firm foundation similar to sisterhood. The vintage aspect reminds us of long-lasting events and friends. The older, antique “tools” (sewing machine, scissors, dress form) remind us that as we age, our hearts remain young if we only embrace the new “lifestyles” that find their way to us - whether it be in new friends, new material things, new thoughts, RENEWAL.

1. Sewing represents the fabric of our lives - the stitches that hold it together, or might even require pulling out, and restitching where necessary. The rick rack from Great Aunt Agnes’ sewing stash, was used to cover up sewing mistakes, and to adorn everything from potholders to baby clothes. The rick rack of our lives is our willingness to be flexible, to roll with the changes Life brings us, to transform what we can about ourselves, and to accept the rest. 
2. Buttons hold openings together - but always, buttons can be undone, accidentally lost, and even changed to modify styles. They come in different sizes - some shiny and dull. Buttons are the stays - little gifts - that keep our lives interesting yet held together. Some of them are bright and shiny, like good times with family and friends, and happiest of memories. Some are dull and unlikeable, symbolizing the darker, unhappier moments of our lives. On this card, one of the buttons is on a butterfly’s body, ready to accept its transformation.
3. The butterflies remind us of freedom and beauty. We can allow ourselves to be held prisoner by the “dull buttons” of our lives, or we can find freedom through those hardships by flying off, changing our perceptions, and becoming the beauty of who we are no matter what happens. The dress form reminds us that one form will fit many, but it is the custom tucks and trims that make us each unique.
4. The Sparkle (glitter) and Lightness (feather) we bring to our lives, and the lives of others, is all dependent upon our choices. We can make ourselves and others feel guilty and “small”, or we can free ourselves and others by moving forward constantly, setting an example by growing continually, and being content with the preciousness and joys in our lives.
5. My friends are those Precious Joys in my life - they bring out the FAITH, HOPE AND LOVE. Friends are color and buttons, butterflies and rick rack, vintage and contemporary - all things beautiful and valued.

Thank you for enriching my life!Stitched Hugs,