Waking up to fresh snow in the ground and with flurries in the forecast I was in the mood for something bright. After the sun came up, little footprints on the deck confirmed we’d had a visitor. We have three little red squirrels that come to help themselves to seeds and pieces of nuts that we leave out for the birds. We certainly don’t mind, and our cat Houdini seems fascinated as he watches through the window not 12 inches from where they sit. The squirrels don’t care either, they seem to know that he can’t touch them. When it’s time for him to go, out we simply encourage the squirrels to leave first.

Something we certainly won’t be seeing for sometime is pretty butterflies. It’s much too cold for them, and it will stay that way for several months yet. So I have to content myself with the butterflies in my craft room. Today I chose the A Touch Of Ink Stamp Set, and with Stampin’ Blends at the ready, I set to work.

A SIMPLE TAG BASE

I began my project by cutting a simple card base from Thick Very Vanilla Card. Once I had the 2″ x 4-1/4″ strip, I shaped the top and added the ribbon slot in one go using the Scalloped Tag Topper Punch.

With that done I turned to the A Touch Of Ink Stamp Set and a Tuxedo Black ink pad.

First I stamped most of the flower outline image in the bottom right corner. Then I stamped the butterfly outline image higher up and on the left. Looking through my acrylic block and clear photopolymer stamp I was able to get the butterfly legs close to the flower. Now my butterfly looked as if it was just coming in to land.

Finally to complete the tag base I used a Blending Brush to add a touch of Seaside Spray ink around the edges. Then I threaded some Seaside Spray 1/4″ Metallic Ribbon through the slot and tied it in a simple knot.

A TOUCH OF ALCOHOL INK

To colour the flowers and butterfly I decided to use Stampin’ Blends alcohol markers. But first I needed to stamp the butterfly image twice more onto scraps of Thick Very Vanilla Card.

Starting with the butterflies on the scrap card I coloured the wings completely with dark Petal Pink. Then from the base of each section I added a small amount of dark Highland Heather with a kind of flicking motion. Over that I added light Highland Heather, again with a flicking motion. This time though I extended the colour a little further up each section. Finally I added a bit more dark Highland Heather close to the bottom of each section to make it just a bit darker.

Once both butterflies were done I used Paper Snips to cut them out. With one of the butterflies I cut out just the wings, leaving behind the body, legs and antennae. The second butterfly needed to be cut complete with the body, but again without the legs and antennae. Then I put these pieces aside while I turned back to the tag base and worked on the flowers.

For the flower petals I first covered them with a layer of dark So Saffron. Then I added some dark Mango Melody at the bottom of each petal. Light Mango Melody came next, from the bottom of each petal ‘flicked’ up but not quite to the tip. Then I finished with some more dark Mango Melody at the base of each petal.

I completed the colouring part of the project with dark and light Granny Apple Green on the tiny leaves.

All I had to do now was add my fussy-cut butterfly wing pieces. First I took the wings without the body and using Multipurpose Liquid Glue (Tombow) fixed them onto the image stamped on the tag. Next I put some liquid glue just along the body on the back of the other fussy-cut butterfly. Then I fixed a couple of Mini Stampin’ Dimensionals behind the wings and pressed the butterfly onto the tag. With that my bright and colourful tag was complete.

I love how the vibrant colour stands out against the softer blended background. I’ve also managed to get a 3D butterfly without having the stress of cutting around the legs and antennae. Stamping the image onto the tag base first took care of that.

PRODUCT LIST

SALE-A-BRATION – The stamp set I used today, A Touch of Ink is one of the free items you can get during our Sale-A-Bration promotion. To earn this 17 piece stamp set, simply place an order for $120CAD (before shipping and taxes). Then select it when prompted for your Sale-A-Bration choice. For more details of this and all the other free items see the Sale-A-Bration 2021 Brochure. Remember, Sale-A-Bration ends on February 28th and supplies may be limited towards the end of the promotion.