Best of Butterflies card trio

This year Stampin' Up!^® is celebrating its 25th anniversary. As part of the celebration, each month during 2013 Stampin' Up! is releasing a "Best of" set featuring several retired images and one new image. (All of the sets will be available through March 2014, so you have plenty of time to collect them.) April's set is Best of Butterflies, and yesterday I had fun making cards with three of the five different butterfly images in the set.

Supplies (all Stampin' Up!):
Stamps: Best of Butterflies, Distressed Dots
Card stock: Sahara Sand, Baja Breeze, So Saffron, Certainly Celery, Perfect Plum
Ink: Sahara Sand, Baja Breeze, So Saffron, Certainly Celery, Perfect Plum
Accessories: Elegant Butterfly punch, Postage Stamp punch, corner rounder, pearls, Beachfront Ribbon Originals, Dimensionals

This butterfly is the new image in the Best of Butterflies set, and as you can see it coordinates with the Elegant Butterfly punch. I started this card with a neutral Sahara Sand base stamped with Distressed Dots in Sahara Sand ink. I stamped the butterfly image using four different colors from the Subtles Collection (Baja Breeze, So Saffron, Certainly Celery and Perfect Plum), punched them out and used Dimensionals to attach them to pieces of Sahara Sand card stock punched with the Postage Stamp punch. I adhered the squares in a column along the left side of the card (place the ribbon under the third butterfly before attaching it to the card) and added a small pearl just above each butterfly. I love the tone-on-tone look of this card and how the butterflies stand out against the background.

Supplies (all Stampin' Up!):
Stamps: Best of Butterflies
Card stock: Crumb Cake, Very Vanilla, Regal Rose, Peach Parfait, So Saffron, Wild Wasabi, Baja Breeze, Perfect Plum
Ink: Regal Rose, Peach Parfait, So Saffron, Wild Wasabi, Baja Breeze, Perfect Plum
Accessories: Itty Bitty Shapes punch pack, rhinestones, Mono Multi liquid glue, Dimensionals

This card has two of the same elements as the previous card: a background full of dots and a vertical line of butterflies. But the color combination here is brighter and more playful (even though three of the colors are the same). I think this would be a perfect birthday card for a little girl, or even a not-so-little one. I started by stamping the column of butterflies on a piece of Very Vanilla card stock. I eyeballed the placement, so they aren't perfect. If you want more precision, I would recommend using the Stamp-a-ma-jig tool. I adhered the stamped piece to the Crumb Cake card base with Dimensionals and then glued the punched circles in rows aligned with the butterflies. To add a little sparkle, I placed a rhinestone on each butterfly and a few of the punched circles. (Note: This card is actually a bit shorter than a standard A2 card because I didn't have the spacing for the circles quite right. After I finished gluing the circles, I had extra space on the right side of the card. It wasn't enough space to add another circle, though, so I just trimmed off 1/4".)

Supplies (all Stampin' Up!):
Stamps: Best of Butterflies, It's Your Birthday
Card stock: Island Indigo, Lucky Limeade, Pool Party, Whisper White
Ink: Island Indigo, Lucky Limeade, Pool Party markers
Accessories: Secret Garden Framelits dies, Square Lattice embossing folder, Lots of Tags Sizzlits dies, large oval punch, Pool Party baker's twine, rhinestones, Dimensionals

This card is my least favorite of the bunch, although it is growing on me a little. I like the different elements of the card, I'm just not sure I like them together. To make the butterfly I colored directly on the rubber stamp with markers, starting with the lightest color and moving to the darkest. For the background, I die cut three leaves with the Secret Garden Framelits dies, used Mono Multi liquid glue to adhere them to a piece of Island Indigo card stock and then embossed the whole piece with the Square Lattice embossing folder. I wrapped Pool Party baker's twine around the panel (it looks white, but it is Pool Party, trust me), adhered it to the card base and attached the cut-out butterfly with Dimensionals. I stamped the birthday sentiment on Whisper White card stock, punched it out and layered it on a Pool Party tag. I added a couple of rhinestones to the sentiment and one on the butterfly's body.

Thanks for stopping by!