It seems ages since I last made something using the Butterfly Gala Stamp Set. I suppose I have been a little distracted by the Stampin’ Up! Annual Catalogue, but that’s really no excuse. Today I saw this week’s Just Add Ink and Global Design Project challenges and Butterfly Gala immediately flew to mind. So I simply sat down and started to create.
OPEN SPACE
I wanted the butterfly panel to be the focal point so opted for a very plain background. I began with a card base of Thick Whisper White Card and used Early Espresso ink to stamp the “birthday wishes” sentiment from the Varies Vases Stamp Set in the bottom right corner.
Next I cut a 3/8″ piece of So Saffron vellum from the Perennial Essence 12″ x 12″ Vellum Cardstock pack. Then using Multipurpose Liquid Glue (Tombow) I attached the vellum to the card front just where the panel would cover it.
FLOWER FRAME
If I was having butterflies I needed flowers to attract them and for that I chose the Magnolia Lane Designer Series Paper (DSP). I chose one of the lighter designs and used liquid glue to fix it to some Whisper White Card. Then I cut it out using the #C4 Stitched Rectangle Die.
Next I placed the #C4 die onto a piece of Crumb Cake Card and nested the #C3 die inside it. Now when I cut this out I had a rectangle frame with two lines of stitching. I set aside the piece cut from the centre to use on a future project.
IDENTIFYING MY DIES – Within the 13 piece Stitched Rectangles Dies there is one that is almost square and I call that A. Then there is a set of 4 dies that nest together and I call that Group B. The final 8 dies that nest together I call Group C. Then as always I number the dies counting from the smallest up.
To complete the floral panel I used liquid glue to attach the frame to the front of the strengthened DSP. Then I added it to the card base using Stampin’ Dimensionals.
BUTTERFLY TIME
All that was left was the butterfly embellishment.
From the four pairs of butterflies in the Butterfly Gala Stamp Set I chose the one with the fairly plain wings. Then I used Early Espresso ink to stamp the pair twice onto Petal Pink vellum from the Perennial Essence Vellum Cardstock.
Ink takes a while to dry on vellum so to speed things up I used my Heat Tool on 1 (low) to speed up the process. Once the ink was dry I punched out the butterflies using the coordinating Butterfly Duet Punch.
I like to attach my butterflies just down the centre. I began by folding the wings either side of the body so that I could then add a line of liquid glue between the creases. Then I attached the large butterfly to the bottom left corner of the framed panel. The two smaller butterflies were added either side of the larger one in the same way.
Of course that still left a large butterfly. I used liquid glue to fix a layer of Whisper White card inside the card base. Then I glued the final vellum butterfly in the centre near the top. Obviously the butterfly will be flattened when the card is closed and mailed, but I suspect that it will bounce back a little when opened. Only time will tell.
Now all I had to do was create a coordinating envelope but attaching a vellum butterfly wasn’t practical. So instead I inked up just the small butterfly from the pair on the stamp, then covered the larger one with sellotape. Now I could safely stamp the small butterfly in the centre of the flap of a Whisper White Medium Envelope to complete my project.
INSPIRATION
Today’s butterfly birthday card was inspired by two challenges.
First the Just Add Ink sketch challenge #JAI467. Because I wanted the double stitched frame I needed to change that part of the sketch from a square to a rectangle. You can still see the rest of the layout was pretty much followed exactly, with butterflies replacing the flowers.
The second challenge that inspired me was Global Design Project #GDP200 (Case the Designer).
This project had three butterflies, a line across the centre (although I used vellum rather than twine), and lots of white space. I also used a tent-fold card (with the crease at the top).
I love how this project turned out. It’s really elegant with the eye drawn to the focal point as I’d planned. So what about you? Do you like using challenges to inspire your creations?
This is just gorgeous Tracy! The coloured Vellum is ideal for these butterflies. Can hardly wait to try some out myself! TFS
Thank you Geraldine. I love the coloured Perennial Essence Vellum Cardstock, especially since the stamping on one side shows through on the back.
Oddly enough, after ordering it, I wasn’t sure I’d done the right thing, wishing I’d opted for another choice, but I have since grown to really appreciate it and love it myself. Have always loved vellum though in any of it’s various forms, unprinted, printed, or plain uncoloured. Have worked minimally with this pack however … can hardly wait to dive in after seeing this! Thanks again!
I just love how you perched your cluster of butterflies on one corner of the frame Tracey! It is just like they are the reason its skewed. Such a great way to use your DSP too, because of course butterflies do need flowers to flutter around! Thanks for joining us at Just Add Ink this week. Kim
Thank you Kim, you’re right flowers and butterflies do go together.
Very pretty card, love the Magnolia paper and subtle colours. Chantell Just Add Ink
Thank you Chantell