Black flowers?...

 I had a few black flowers in my box of pre-made flowers and wondered what I should do with them. I had used a couple of them to decorate small gift boxes, but I wanted to see if I could also use them on a card.

This is what I came up with--a card and an envelope. The envelope was made with a coordinating piece of DSP. I used my envelope punch board to make it, turning the patterned side of the paper inward. I added some double-sided tape on the flap. 

For my card, I first stenciled a bright yellow pattern onto a panel of off-white/ecru cardstock. Then I added some extra yellow shading around the edges of my panel.

I glued this panel to a 4" X 8" black card base and adhered three of my black flowers.

The "Happy Birthday" stamp is an old one. It was stamped with some black Versafine ink.

Finally, I added some black sequins for a little sparkle.

On the inside, I stamped a sentiment and used some more of my yellow ink to add some color around the edges. This helped to highlight my sentiment and add some interest without adding any additional stamping or embellishments.

Some of you asked that I share a photo of my Habitat for Humanity t-shirt quilt once I got it back from Project Repat, the organization that made it. So, here it is:

The quilt is big enough to easily cover a double-size bed. I sent in enough t-shirt sides for thirty 15-inch squares. It is so nice and cozy with its fleece backing that I've been keeping it near to snuggle under while I watch TV at night. The different squares bring up lots of memories of my work and volunteer experiences with Habitat for Humanity. 

Thanks so much for stopping by, and remember to laugh--a little or a lot--every day.

Cheryl