By My Side

I’m feeling a little better and hopefully the worst of this cold it behind me. Yesterday was one of those ‘go with the flow’ days, just doing what I could as I felt able. Lots of rest and plenty of fluids too. It’s definitely autumn here now, although the blaze of colour we’re used to is definitely lacking. Hurricane Fiona certainly cheated us when she tore the leaves from the trees. But nature rebounds and a butterfly inspired me to create this project using the By My Side Stamp Set.

My regular readers will not be surprised that I was attracted to the By My Side Stamp Set in the Stampin’ Up! 2022/2023 Annual Catalogue. I love colouring and the cute characters were made for that. Each of the three children have a creature by their side (or on their nose or hand). The images are not too fussy and I plan to pair them with lots of sentiments, not just the ones included in the set.

Today I began with a 2-1/2″ x 3″ piece of Thick Basic White Card. Using the slot option on the Very Best Trio Punch I first punched a hole in the centre of one of the short edges. Then I shaped the top corners using the fancy corner option on the same punch.

Next using Tuxedo Black ink I stamped the girl and butterfly image. Then I took the “Here for you” sentiment and inked that up. However before going any further I covered up the word “here” with sellotape. Then when I stamped onto the tag only the words “for you” appeared.

Colouring the image was quick and easy using Stampin’ Blends alcohol markers. For her hair I used light and dark Basic Black, making small circular squiggles. On her top I used dark Pumpkin Pie, while the light Pumpkin Pie marker was used to add some ‘ground’. Then I coloured her skin with the SU700 Medium Light Stampin’ Blends. The lighter SU800 marker from that pair went onto the butterfly before I added a little dark Pumpkin Pie around the edges. Finally I chose light and dark Bermuda Bay for her skirt.

With the colouring complete I cut two 6″ pieces of black twine from the Baker’s Twine Essentials Pack. After folding the twine in half I poked the two loops through the hole in the tag. Then I threaded the cut ends through the loops and pulled gently to secure them in place. And just like that this week’s simple Sunday project was complete. I hope you like it.