An inchworm, dragonflies & ladybugs

This card was created for Sneak Peek Week to share a card sample made with Clear Dollar Stamps' soon-to-be-released set called "Spring Critters". I wanted to use the inchworm in the set as the focal point of the card, but I also wanted to background stamp something interesting and fun to color, as well...so I grabbed another Clear Dollar Stamps Set, which will be their January Stamp of the Month set, called "Spring Trimmings", and used the dragonflies from that. The little ladybug that I colored lilac is from the "Spring Critters" set. Not that dragonflies or ladybugs have anything to do with inchworms...my creation just sort of went in a "buggy" direction! LOL

The color scheme for this card: lilac, pale yellow and light green was suggested by Laurie Wilson to our design team as a color challenge...so I just had to color those sweet little ladybugs lilac...and I'm thinking that it works for me! What do you think? By the way, when you spend $50.00 or more when you place an order with Clear Dollar Stamps, you receive the Stamp of the Month Stamp Set FREE! So, if you love these darlin' dragonflies, they can be yours, FREE! Okay...on with the deets:

Clear Dollar Stamps LLC Stamp Sets Used: Spring Critters and Spring Trimmings
Cardstock and Papers: Provocraft Yellow Patterned Scrapbook Paper, Provocraft Green Leafy Patterned Scrapbook Paper, Making Memories Purple Simple Sponge, Colormates Light Grassy Green Cardstock, Colormates Dark Lovely Lilac, Paper Trey White Cardstock
Inkpads: Stampin' Up! Green Galore and Stazon Black Ink
Markers: Signo Black Gel Pen, Marvy Multicolor Brush Markers
Accessories and Embellishments: Scor-It, Cuttlebug, Cuttlebug Paisley and Dotted Swiss Embossing Folders, Regular Round and Scalloped Round Nestabilities Dies, Stampin' Up! Large and Small Oval Punches, Martha Stewart Border Punch, American Crafts Large Yellow Eyelet, Lilac Button, Jolee's Dragonfly, Sewing Machine, Thread, Zots
Coloring Medium: Marvy Brush Markers
Special Techniques: Dry Embossing, Background Stamping

DIRECTIONS:
The card base was cut to 5" wide x 10" high from Paper Trey White Cardstock, scored in half, Three progressive square mats were cut to size: 5" mat out of Provocraft Green Leafy Patterned Scrapbook Paper, 4.5" out of Making Memories Purple Simple Sponge Scrapbook Paper, and a third, to 4" out of Provocraft Yellow Patterned Scrapbook Paper and set aside. A horizontal strip was cut to 4" wide x 5/8" high out of Colormates Dark Lovely Lilac Cardstock and punched with the Martha Stewart Border Punch. Another horizontal strip was cut to 1/2" out of Paper Trey White Cardstock, to highlight the "holes" behind the Martha Stewart punched border. These two horizontal strips were glued together, as were the previously mentioned square mats.

The image was stamped onto Paper Trey White Cardstock using Stazon Black Ink, and then colored with Marvy Multicolor Brush Markers. The image was cut out using a Marvy Circle Punch, and then I paper pierced free-hand around the image circle edge. Two scalloped mats were cut using Nestabilities Scalloped Round Dies to frame the stamped image: the smaller one out of Colormates Light Grassy Green Cardstock, and the larger one out of Colormates Dark Lovely Lilac. The Dark Lovely Lilac scalloped frame was run through the Cuttlebug Swiss Dots Embossing Folder. The stamped image circle was glued to the two scalloped mat frames. The three square frames: the green, lilac and yellow, were all glued together. Using my Janome Hello Kitty Sewing Machine ; ) I stitched around all four sides of the green, lilac and yellow square mats. Gluing the horizontal white and lilac punched strip to the card, I stitched across the strip to anchor it to the card, and for added interest. The matted, framed stamped image was then glued to the three bottom square, stitched mats.

The sentiment was stamped onto Paper Trey White Cardstock using Stazon Black Ink. The sentiment was punched out using the Stampin' Up! Large Oval Punch, and a sentiment mat was punched out of Colormates Light Grassy Green Cardstock using the Stampin' Up! Small Oval Punch. I "dot-doodled" around the green sentiment mat using a Signo Black Gel Pen. The sentiment was then glued to the sentiment mat, and anchored with a Large American Crafts Yellow Eyelet. To embellish the card, I added a Nicole Lilac Satin Ribbon and threaded it through the large yellow eyelet,and around the back of the card and tying in a bow by the eyelet. I added a Jolee's Lime Green Dragonfly embellishment to the bow, using a Zots dot. A dark lilac button was stitched to the card for balance. To finish the card the finished glued layers were glued to the 5"x10" Paper Trey White Cardstock Scored Base.