Butterfly Basics cards

I was so excited when I saw the Butterfly Basics stamp set and coordinating Butterflies Thinlits dies in the 2015 Occasions catalog from Stampin' Up! I loved them immediately, and they were two of the first things I ordered. Way back in December. Since then I've cut out a few of the butterfly die cuts, but that was about it. Finally this week I pulled out the dies, stamp set, and four ink colors (Early Espresso, Pear Pizzazz, So Saffron and Calypso Coral) and created three cards.

Supplies (all Stampin' Up!):
Stamps: Butterfly Basics, Gorgeous Grunge
Paper: Pear Pizzazz card stock, watercolor paper
Ink: Pear Pizzazz pad, Calypso Coral ink refill, So Saffron ink refill, Early Espresso pad and ink refill
Accessories: Butterflies Thinlits dies, Bitty Butterfly punch, pearls

I had an idea about making a watercolor butterfly, and I'm glad it turned out like I imagined. Here are the steps I followed:
Note: This can be a messy technique, so be sure you are working over a sink or an old towel to catch ink drips.
1. Trim a piece of watercolor paper to fit the die.
2. Wet the paper. I used a misting spray bottle, but you could also use a paintbrush and water.
3. Add drops of reinker in the desired color(s) to the paper. The wetter the paper is, the more the ink will spread, so you only need a couple of drops.
4. Gently tilt the paper different directions to spread and blend the colors.
5. When you are satisfied with the colors, set down the paper and place a white paper towel on top to soak up the extra ink and water. (This will lighten the colors a bit; on my paper the Early Espresso ink looked almost black until I removed some of the ink.)
6. Let the paper dry then punch or cut out the desired shapes.

After I cut out the large butterfly die, I used the Bitty Butterfly punch to punch out a few small butterflies from the remaining watercolor paper. I stamped a monotone card base -- I didn't want the background to compete with the colors of the butterflies -- and then adhered the bodies of the butterflies to the card, leaving the wings free. To finish the card I added a few pearls.

Supplies (all Stampin' Up!):
Stamps: Butterfly Basics, Gorgeous Grunge
Paper: Very Vanilla card stock
Ink: Early Espresso, Pear Pizzazz, So Saffron, Calypso Coral
Accessories: Butterflies Thinlits dies, burlap ribbon, Subtles Candy Dots, corner rounder, Dimensionals, Glue Dots

For this card I stamped the fern image multiple times around the edges of a Very Vanilla card base to create the look of a frame. It was a little too plain, so I added some speckles using one of the images from the Gorgeous Grunge set. For the focal point I stamped and cut out three lacy butterfly images: one each in So Saffron, Early Espresso and Calypso Coral. I embellished the butterflies with either a Candy Dot or a small bow (made with a strand from a piece of burlap ribbon) and used Dimensionals to adhere them in a column down the middle of the card.

Supplies (all Stampin' Up!):
Stamps: Butterfly Basics
Paper: Very Vanilla card stock
Ink: Early Espresso, Pear Pizzazz, So Saffron, Calypso Coral
Accessories: Best Year Ever buttons, Bitty Butterfly punch, pearls, linen thread, corner rounder, Dimensionals

This is a basic, clean and simple collage-style card. It's mostly just straightforward stamping, but the one thing I'll point out is that to make the lighter fern image, I applied ink to the rubber stamp, stamped the fern on the left and then stamped the fern on the right without reapplying ink.

I love how easy it was with this stamp set to simply stamp a few images, add a couple of embellishments and end up with a really pretty card. I know that receiving a card like this would definitely make me smile.

I know these stamps and dies will see a lot of use. I also created a little butterfly-themed gift ensemble -- birthday card, tag and gift box -- that I will share later this week.

Thanks for stopping by!