Butterfly Hello - Paper Craft Crew Challenge #420

 This card was made for the Vertical Challenge with the Paper Craft Crew Challenge #420 .

Since butterflies seem to be popular right now, I decided to resurrect the Botanical Butterfly DSP, a retired SAB item, and punch some of them using the retiring Butterfly duet punch.

And, I altered the sketch so that rather than square focal features I used layered circles.

So, here's my card"

The top folding Basic Black card base was layered with a Black and White polka dot pattern from the True Love DSP.

Five different butterflies were punched from the (retired SAB) Botanical Butterfly DSP using the soon to be retired Butterfly duet punch.  In addition, a small butterfly was punched from the body of another butterfly again using the butterfly duet punch (the small butterfly option). 

Six 1 1/4" Basic Black circles were punched as well as six smaller 1 3/8" Basic White ones.  The two were adhered together and added to the card front equidistant from one another. The larger butterflies were adhered to 5 of the circles.  On the remaining circle I added the sentiment (Forever Fern) which was stamped on a rectangle sentiment strip. Above that was added the smaller butterfly; below it a bow made with a 1/4" Calypso Coral ribbon (Ornate bundle).

And of course, no card is complete without bling. so a rhinestone was added to each butterfly making sure there was an odd number.

Supplies Used:

Stamp:  Forever Fern (sentiment)

Ink:  Basic Black (for sentiment)

Papers:  Basic Black, Basic White, True Love DSP, retired Botanical Butterfly DSP

Accessories:  Punches:  1 1/4" and  1 3/8" circle, Butterfly Duet, rhinestones, 1/4" Calypso Coral ribbon

A 'Global' Happy Birthday - Hand Stamped Sentiments #322

Over the last few days I have been playing with the new "Still Scenes" stamp set which is about to be released when the Holiday catalogue debutes in one day on September 4.  All cards I made with this set were Christmas cards, but I could not see why a globe card could not be for other occasions as well. 

So, I made a 'globe' birthday card for the Inspiration Challenge at Hand Stamped Sentiments

The base card of Seaside Spray is layered with Whisper White, and then Rococco Rose DSP.    The DSP is die cut using the Snowglobe scene die and this opening was used as a template to draw a faint pencil line on the Whisper White layer to outline the 'globe' area .

Three flowers and  small butterfly were stamped in Seaside Spray, Blackberry Bliss and Rococco Rose.  The petals of the flowers were curled after which Shimmer Crystal Effects and Stampin' Glitter was applied.  The butterfly was layered onto another butterfly and Crystal Effects applied as well.  Small pearls coloured with Blackberry bliss Stampin' blends were placed in the center of each flower.

Before adding the flower and butterfly to the penciled area, a 'dot' stamp from 'Still Scenes' was stamped multiple times in Rococco Rose to create some background interest, and the branch from 'Butterfly Wishes' was stamped across the middle.  The flowers and butterflies were then added.  Small pearls were randomly added to the background.

The globe and DSP was added to the card front.  The base of the globe, die cut in Smoky Slate was adhered below the globe using dimensionals. A bow made with Whisper White ribbon coloured with a Seaside Spray blendability was added to the base of the globe.

Extra butterflies punched with the Butterfly Duet punch in Seaside Spray were added to the card front and on top of the globe.

The sentiment, stamped in Rococco Rose, was added dangling from the globe

Supplies Used:
Stamps:  Still Scenes, Butterfly Wishes
Inks:  Ricocco Rose, Seaside Spray, Blackberry Bliss, Gorgeous Grape
Papers:  Seaside Spray, Whisper White, Ricocco Rose DSP, Smoky Slate
Accessories:  Butterfly Duet punch, Snow Globes, Shimmer Crystal Effects, Stampin' Glitter, Snow Globe Dies, Pearls, 1/4" White Organza ribbon coloured with Seafoam Spray blendability

Country Floral Birthday - The Paper Players #434

I love the Country Floral Embossing Folder, one of the latest SAB offerings.  The 3D images created when using this folder are fantastic.

For this card I wanted to try a different technique using this embossing folder to create a unique background which will be used for the sketch challenge with The Paper Players here

To create the background, Blueberry Bushel ink was applied directly to the Country Floral Embossing Folder, adding a piece of Whisper White card stock into the folder before running it through the Big Shot.

This was trimmed to  4 1/4 by 5 1/2" and added to  Blueberry Bushel top fold card stock base.  At the bottom a 1 1/4" by 5 1/4" trip of Blueberry Bushel striped DSP was added.

The sentiment, die cut using the Well Said framelits was die cut twice, once in Silver Foil, and once in Blueberry Bushel card stock.  After adhering the two together, slightly off setting each other, the sentiment was adhered to a 1 1/4" strip of Whisper White card stock, which was pointed at one end. Three sprigs punched in Silver Foil, and  Silver metallic thread was added to the card front and the sentiment panel was added over these using dimensionals.

The word "wishes" was stamped and placed below the sentiment.

Three butterflies punched with the Duet butterfly punch using Silver Foil were added to the card front - two on the sentiment panel and one at the upper right.  Two rhinestones were added to each butterfly.

Supplies Used:

Stamp:  Well Said

Ink:Blueberry Bushel

Papers:  Blueberry Bushel, Whisper White, Blueberry Bushel DSP, Silver Foil

Accessories:  Country Floral Embossing Folder, Well Said Framelits, Spring Punch, Silver Thread, Duet Butterfly Punch

Cats in a Crate

I miss my two cats.  I had them for almost 17 years and their loss still hurts.  So working with the Nine Lives Stamp set and coordinating Cat Punch today was bittersweet.

I designed a Z-fold card with a wooden crate in the middle, and in the crate are several cats.

A 4 1/4 by 11 piece of Thick Whisper White card stock was scored at 5 1/2 and again 8.  It was folded in a mountain fold at the 8" score and a Valley fold at the 5 1/2" fold folding a Z-fold.

Snuggled in the fold in the center is a wooden crate.  Two pieces of the crate were die cut using the Wood Crate framelit die  and the  Wood  Grain DSP.  Prior to its construction, the bottom was trimmed off. This allows the crate to fold flat during mailing. In addition two inserts were adhered inside the crate allowing the cats to be adhered to these strips. Some embellishments were added to the crate front. It is attached to the card at both the end piece and one of the long pieces.

The stamparatus was used to stamp cats of different colours and colour combinations, and the cat punch punched them out.  Four cats were placed in the crate; two on the front.

Each of the panels is layered with Basic Black card stock, followed by Botanical Butterfly Gala DSP. On the front the Whisper White art piece die cut with the stitched rectangle framelit is matted with Grapefruit Grove foil paper and then added to the checkerboard pattern DSP.  On the Whisper White piece the word "meow" is stamped randomly a number of times.  Two cats are adhered side by side, with the multicoloured cat adhered with dimensionals. A red bow is attached to its tail, and a butterfly punched from the Botanical Butterfly Gala DSP was added at the top right.

Part of the sentiment is at the front of the card; the entire sentiment is on the back portion.  The Whisper White piece is matted with the foil paper and below the sentiment is a foil rooster.

Supplies Used:
Stamp:  Nine Lives
Inks:  Black Memento, Smoky Slate,  Early Espresso, Basic Black marker
Papers:  Thick Whisper White, Whisper White, Basic Black, Botanical Butterfly Gala DSP, Wood Grain DSP, Grapefruit Grove Foil
Accessories:  Cat Punch, Duet Butterfly Punch, Wood Crate Framelits, Stitched Rectangle Framelits, Dimensionals

More Butterfles, Only Punched

Butterflies seem to be very popular this year, with not one, but two stamp sets featuring these winged creatures in the Occasions catalogue.

The last three posts featured cards made using the Butterfly Beauty framelits. Today's post features a card made using the Butterfly Gala stamp set and it's coordinating Butterfly Duet punch.

The butterflies were stamped with Black Memento on Whisper White, coloured with Mint Macaron blendabilites. They were then punched with the Butterfly Duet punch.

The base card is Mint Macaron card stock, layered with Whisper white embossed with the Layered Petal embossing folder.

On the left is a 2" strip of Love What You Do DSP edged on both sides of Mint Macaron card stock punched using the Ribbon Edge Punch.

Before adhering this to the card base, 1/4" organza ribbon and bow, coloured with the Mint Macaron blendability. is added. The sentiment, stamped in Mint Macaron, is added to the lower right.

The two larger and one smaller butterflies were added to the card front as shown in the picture on the left and Clear Wink of Stella applied to their wings.

Three pearls were coloured with a Blackberry Bliss blendability and added to the upper right.

The stamens of the butterflies were stamped after the butterflies were attached to the card.

On the left shows a close up of the wonderfully detailed butterflies.











Supplies Used:
Stamp:  Butterfly Gala
Inks:  Black Memento, Mint Macaron,  Mint Macaron and Blackberry Bliss blendabilites
Papers:  Mint Macaron, Whisper White, Love What You Do DSP
Accessories:  Butterfly Duet punch, Decorative ribbon edge punch, Pearls, Layered Leaves embossing folder, Clear Wink of Stella, 1/4" white organza ribbon coloured

All a Flutter -Butterflies Everywhere

I'll never forget the time I went to the Butterfly Emporium on the other side of Toronto.  It was winter and as I walked into a hot humid room I gasped with surprise! Large  butterflies with turquoise wings were flying around everywhere! Their beauty and grace astonished me.   One landed on my head and I stood still with bated breath, not wanting  to scare it, not wanting it to leave.

When I saw the Butterfly Gala stamp set memories of that day came flooding back.  My card today reflects, in some way, those memories.  I wore a polka dot shirt that day, with  dark burgundy pants.

The "Share what you Love" DSP was perfect and provided the colour scheme for the rest of the card.
The card base of Mint Macaron was layered with Whisper White  embossed with the Layered Leaf  Embossing Folder.

On top of this was added a strip of dotted  DSP with Mint Macaron strips punched with the Decorative Ribbon Punch along both long sides. I coloured some 1/4" white organza ribbon with a Mint Macaron blendability and placed it on the left side of the DSP before attaching it to the Whisper White layer.

On a separate piece of Whisper White card stock, two butterfly pairs (each stamp is comprised of a large and small butterfly) and coloured them with a Mint Macaron Stampin' Blendability.  They were then punched with the Duet Butterfly punch and the edges sponged with Basic Gray ink. Clear Wink of Stella applied to their wings gave them an almost  translucent appearance.

Glue dots were used to adhere the butterflies to the card front.  One of the smaller ones was added to the top of the sentiment, which is from "All Things Thanks"; the second one was reserved for the inside of the card. Their little antennae were stamped directly onto the card front.

A Blackberry Bliss blendability was used to colour three pearls which were then placed on the upper right of the card.

Supplies Used:

Stamps: Butterfly Gala, All Thing Thanks

Inks:  Black Memento, Mint Macaron (Light and dark) Blendabilities, Blackberry Bliss Blendability, Mint Macaron marker

Papers:  Mint Macaron, Whisper White, Share What You Love DSP

Accessories:  Duet Butterfly punch, Decorative Edge Ribbon punch, 1/4" white organza ribbon (retired), Pearls, Layered Leaves Embossing Folder, Glue Dots

An Easter Butterfly Shadow Frame

I found this 3 1/2" by  5 1/2" shadow box frame in the dollar store.  There were only 2 left, one bright green and one orange, and were being sold for the grand price of $1 each.  Needless to say I grabbed them up.
The first thing I did was sand them down and paint them first with a coat of white paint followed by 2 coats of black.

I made one of the two frames into an Easter shadow box.

The background is a piece of Petal Promenade DSP which I sponged with Daffodil Delight, Mango Melody, Balmy Blue , Crumb Cake and Basic Gray to create the colourful backdrop for the beautiful butterflies.

The branch looks real enough, but honestly it is made out of paper.  Five branches were die cut using Early Espresso card stock using the Seasonal layers Thinlet dies These were adhered  together to give the branch a 3D look.  The leaves were made by cutting apart a leaf punchie.  Each leaf was then folded in half to give the leaf a more realistic look.

Another branch was made for across the bottom, and 3 real chocolate Easter eggs were adhered to this.

Using the butterfly duet punch, four butterflies were punched out of the SAB Butterfly Gala DSP, and another two were fussy cut. All had their edges sponged with Basic Gray ink.  The butterflies were adhered one on top of the other and then to the background by the thorax only.  Another butterfly was punched to be placed on the outside of the frame.

I made 2 small roses to add to the outside frame underneath the butterfly.

All I had to do now was place the butterfly background into the shadow box frame----