Small Business Saturday is November 26th!

The second annual "Small Business Saturday" is coming up on November 26th! It is the day after Black Friday when shoppers are encouraged to support their favorite small businesses with their patronage. I opened my first online greeting card store (ilovecuttables) in April of this year, so this will actually be my first "Small Biz Sat." A couple of weeks ago my brilliant and beautiful daughter, Megan, agreed to become my partner and she is handling all of the Zazzle products (http://www.zazzle.com/ilovecuttables). Over the next few days, she and I will be posting some of our personal favorite items that we have created (we'll post them here and on our blogs); and we hope you will consider making a purchase (or two) from any of our stores on Nov 26th. Also, we would be happy to work directly with you if you would like cards or gifts personalized with artwork specifically created for you (perfect for Christmas gifts!). We'd love to hear from you. :) Thanks! (Pictured above are some adorable plaid shoes Megan designed on Zazzle. Plaid Shoes by ilovecuttables. Build your own shoes)

Butterflies!

I love making butterflies and including them in my greeting cards. And I'm always looking for new techniques for making my butterflies. I also love using the interpolate feature in Inkscape. Yippee! I scored on both counts! I found three videos explaining how to use the interpolate feature to make rhinestone paths, and the last one shows how to make a butterfly. The videos were created by one of my favorite Inkscape tutorial makers, Aussie Carolyn of CuttingTime. These videos are explaining the interpolate feature to make SVG files for use with cutting machines (such as Silhouette, Cricut or Black Cat cutters), but the method can also work to make vector images for use in non-cut greeting cards as well.

Rhinestone Path Using Interpolate in Inkscape Part 1

Rhinestone Path Using Interpolate in Inkscape Part 2

Rhinestone Path Using Interpolate in Inkscape Part 3 - Making a Butterfly

Here are some butterfly cards that I made (although none of them have incorporated the rhinestone path technique yet):


And here are some beautiful butterfly cards from other GCU artists:


Update . . . I created my own unique butterfly using Carolyn's nifty tutorial. Here it is.

Later update . . . Here are some other wonderful blog postings about butterflies from other Greeting Card Universe artists:

A Bit of Fun with Colorful Butterflies
“Ever since I can remember, I’ve been intrigued with the beauty of butterflies…”
Sunshine’s Creative Explorations, Donna Lorello

The Delicate Life of a Butterfly
“So you have a great love for butterflies?”
Sheryl Kasper Card Store, Sheryl Kasper

Beautiful Butterflies
“I have noticed lots of butterflies lately…”
Dragonfire Graphics, Betsy Bush

To a Butterfly
“I’ve watched you now a full half-hour…”
Photography TK Designs, Tracie

Greeting Card Universe & Butterfly Changes
“I started this blog as a way to promote greeting cards…”
Janet Lee Designs, Janet Palaggi

Papillon: The Butterfly Dog
“The big dog in the small body…”
DogBreedz, Peggy Mundell

Monarch Butterflies
“The beauty and wonder of Monarch butterflies inspired me…”
It’s a Beautiful World, Catherine Sherman

Good Luck
“A most unusual thing happened this week when I was gardening…”
Painted Cottage, Judith Cheng

Butterflies
“Imagine, Dare, Do!”
Naquiaya’s Cards, Naquaiya

Butterfly Animal Medicine Transformation Success Story: Carol Moore
“Animal Medicine is a Native American way of using lessons from the animal kingdom…”
Heart to Art, Sri

I Love Butterflies
“I love making butterflies, and including them in my greeting cards…”
 I Love Cuttables,  Cindy Johns

Luna... A New Family Member (adorable alert!)

My daughter and her boyfriend just got a sweet little kitten a couple days ago. They named her Luna (pictured). I haven't made it to PA to meet Luna in person yet, nor have I had the opportunity to make a card with her picture on it, but I promise I will. In the meantime, here are some of the cutest kitten cards I've ever seen. I may have gotten carried away, but where does one stop when the selection seems endless (all images are clickable to see a larger version).




Artists (not necessarily in order): Doreen Erhardt, Ricky Knowles, Yvonne Carter, Great Scott Designs, Catherine Sherman, Valerie Waters, Tamera Dawn Adams, Photography TK, Dogbreedz, Michelle Dokos, Moonlake Designs, Sharon Miller, Ed Denton, Elizabeth Williams, Morgan and Cameron, Kimberly Palmer, JustbyJulie, Samantha Bell, Debbie Fieno, Christy DeKoning, Carolyn Grossman, Maria Dryfhout, Polly McMillan, Michele McCauley, Natasha McManus, Bobbi Holmes, Lisa Solonynko, Joline Railey, A January Production

Update: Here are a few cards I made using Luna as my model.