I'm Back - Hooray! Plus Two Snowflake Cards

What a week - I shall be so glad when it's over!  Firstly, we lost our internet connection and I spent a long and very frustrating time on the phone to our ISP.  At one point I was speaking to a supervisor and he suggested I Google something - erm, how on earth am I meant to do that with no internet connection?!  The upshot was we needed a new router so we couldn't get back online until we'd received that.  I know it's only a few days but I really, really miss the web when I can't access it - no blog surfing, Splitcoast Stampers, eBaying or Pinterest for heavens sake, what's a gal to do?

On Tuesday we were scheduled to have a new boiler fitted into our airing cupboard - which is in the spare bedroom I use as my craft room.  So I had to move most of my stuff out and try to craft in our tiny sun room.  After a good start the installers hit a few snags which delayed things.  On Thursday night hubby turned on the hot water tap at the kitchen sink and then we couldn't turn it off  - and we couldn't turn the stopcock off either!  The tap was on full and gushing at quite a rate as our water pressure has gone up a lot since having our new boiler system installed.  So an emergency plumber costing an arm and a leg had to be summoned to sort us out.  All done now but to say the week has been stressful is rather an understatement!  The bright spot was on Thursday afternoon when I attended a Stampin' Up! workshop - it was so lovely to escape for a few hours!

Anyway, here are two snowflake cards I made a while ago.  I wanted to use a die cut snowflake as a mask and spritz Blue Smoke Perfect Pearls mist over the mask.  I carefully peeled the mask away when I'd done spritzing and was chuffed to find it came away perfectly intact so I decided to use that on a second card.  I love the "A snowflake is winter's butterfly" sentiment and I have one in wood mount and a larger version in a clear set so I used both.  I haven't added a Christmas sentiment to either card so that I can use them as winter birthday cards or after Christmas thank you cards.  This first card measures a tad under 5 1/4" square but needed a larger envelope to accommodate the overhanging banner.  I fixed two blue felt snowflakes to the centre of my masked snowflake with a rhinestone brad.  I punched a decorative snowflake border on the white panel and added some Marina Mist ribbon.  A snowflake border was stamped on the front of the envelope - and inside the card too.

The second card is a standard C6 size made with SU! Perfect Plum CS and I used the thoroughly gorgeous Brushed Silver CS to add a strip and a decorative punched edge. This time I attached a pale purple felt snowflake to the centre of the large snowflake with a metal snowflake brad.  I popped a rhinestone on the centre of the brad and on the punched silver snowflake.  Again, I stamped the snowflake border on the front of the envelope and I stamped the same border on a white panel inside the card also.

Supplies:
Stamps: Hero Arts Winter's Snowflake wood mount stamp & Winter's Butterfly clear set, snowflake border from My Cute Stamps Let It Snow! clear set
CS: PaperMania square white card blank, SU! Night of Navy, Perfect Plum, Brushed Silver & Whisper White
Ink: SU! Night of Navy & Perfect Plum
Tools: Sizzix Snowflake #2 die, EK Success Snowflake border punch, SU! Eyelet Lace border punch, Woodware small snowflake punch
Embellishments & accessories: Perfect Pearls Blue Smoke mist, Hero Arts felt snowflakes, SU! Marina Mist grosgrain ribbon, rhinestone brad, snowflake brad, rhinestones, 3d foam pads