Butterfly Brilliance

Whew! It's been a busy couple of weeks for me. I took a temporary job for the month of August, and it's more hours and a later shift than I'm used to, so between that and the heat this summer I've been wiped out and pretty unproductive in the evenings. That means a lot of things end up on my weekend to-do list and I haven't had as much time for crafting and blogging. So if it's a little slow around here for the next few weeks, know that I'm still around, and hopefully I'll get back on track in September when school starts and I'm back to my regular job.

Today I'm sharing a few cards made with the Butterfly Brilliance stamp set and coordinating dies (retired, Stampin' Up!). I've had this set for quite awhile, and while I've used the detailed butterfly dies a few times, I had never used the stamped image(s) and the die that cuts them out. I needed to fix that!

The Butterfly Brilliance stamp set is actually one background-sized stamp with six butterflies. For my first card I stamped the image on a light-colored card base with slightly darker ink and added a narrow die-cut frame in black. I stamped an outline-style sentiment on white card stock with black ink, colored in the letters with a coordinating marker, added a black frame, and adhered it to the card front.

For embellishment I decided to add more butterflies -- three small gold ones and two larger ones. The large butterflies are layered to make them sturdier; for each butterfly I cut one black layer and two layers in the same card stock as the card base. I glued them together with the black on top and then gently folded up the wings. When I attached them to the card, I placed glue only on the bod and antennae of the butterflies. Note: This card base is slightly smaller than an A2 card, so the butterfly on the right can hang off the edge a bit and the card will still fit in a standard envelope.

For the next two cards I decided to ink up the butterflies in two different colors and cut them out with the coordinating die. (The images are far enough apart on the stamp that I was able to ink them separately with mini ink pads.) I wanted to keep these cards monochromatic, so I chose card stock that was the same colors as the stamped butterflies and then stamped the card bases with a wood plank background stamp. I die cut two stitched label shapes from white card stock and stamped each with a sentiment. I adhered a label to each card base and used foam tape to add the die-cut butterflies. I finished each card with a few simple pearls.

Thanks for stopping by!