Butterfly

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The inspiration for this card is from Time Out Challenges. There is a gorgeous picture of a clock and butterflies, which I have been thinking of for a few days. When I was in a panic buying mode in Crafters Companion store yesterday – looking for my water-colour card – I came across this stunning die from Memory Box, and thought it would be ideal for CASEing this inspiration picture. (Copy and share everything)

I initially thought that the die would cut the butterflies out of paper stock completely, but when I cut it in white – as per photo – I realised it actually cut the rectangle out, and part-cut the butterflies, leaving them in the card, attached by their middle section. I started off by thinking I would cut the die and have red underneath showing through each butterfly shape, but this wouldn’t work with how the die actually cut.

On to my next idea – I cut the die out of red sparkly card, and then cut each individual little butterfly out, snipping with my fine decoupage scissors. Yes – more than 50 little, tiny, butterflies. Then used my Stampin Up fine tip glue, and stuck each of the 50 little butterflies individually down on the white card base. Each one. Singly. Stuck down. Definitely had my patient head on when I did that! And, you know, it’s really, really difficult to not put them in straight lines, and make them haphazard…..

The clock was die cut out of Tim Holtz/Sizzix BIGZ die ‘Clock, Ornate and hands’, then embossed with Spellbinders M-Bossability ‘numbers’. The hands cut out of the same red sparkly card I had used for the butterflies. I was going the leave the card as it was, then decided to add a sentiment from Stampin Up ‘Special Reason’ stamp set – just a little one, in the bottom corner.

Yep – good idea – then smudged it! Again! Will I never learn? So I added yet another little red butterfly……………catastrophe averted. Kinda.

I’ve had a little play with my Brusho’s! I don’t know if this is what you are supposed to do with them, and I don’t know if this is the effect one hopes to achieve – but I like it! Such a little burst of colour. Like magic when added to water.

The inspiration for playing with my Brusho’s came from the Addicted to Stamps and More site. There is an inspiration photo which immediately brought to mind the small set of Brusho’s that I have. I haven’t really experimented with them, but thought I would give it a go.

I tried three techniques, and actually like them all, for different reasons. The first thing I did was to cut some of my Crafters Companion water-colour A4 card into 4 pieces. That way I could experiment with four different methods at the same time, rather than try one, and complete the card, then another etc. I like to look at the different outcomes all at once, then decide what I want to do with them.

First technique: wet the water-colour card front and back, then drop my Turquoise Brusho onto it very gently, slowly, miniscule fleck by miniscule fleck – it still burst all over my card! Then my card started to buckle, then the colour was running to the edges…..so I took my piercing tool – which I use to poke out the bits from intricate dies – and pushed the middle down, to keep it as flat as possible. I wanted the colour in the centre of the card, not the edges. This is the piece of card I used to cut my Tim Holtz Butterfly Duo out of, and embossed those same two butterflies with the matching embossing folder. I then added those butterflies to a piece of white card, and drew the antennae on with a black gel pen. I will think about adding a sentiment, but actually quite like them as they are.

Second technique: I dropped flecks of Turquoise Brusho onto dry water-colour card, then sprayed water onto it. Only a few drops of water at a time, again very sparingly, so I could try to determine where the colour and water was going to go. It didn’t quite work out that way, as the burst of colour really is very dramatic, but I liked the effect anyway. I kept some of the areas drier than others, as I like the effect of the Brusho grains when they are not completely saturated by water. I then used the same Tim Holtz Butterfly Duo die and embossing folder but with white card, and adhered the butterflies plainly and simply onto the spattered blue card.

The third technique was to stamp and emboss a butterfly and floral element from an IndigoBlu stamp set called ‘Nature 1’. This is a lovely stamp set, which has clouds, and grass, edge of a tree, and a gorgeous sentiment. The butterfly from this is quite solid – what I wanted – so I stamped the butterfly and the flower/thistle/weed (don’t know what it is!) with my Ranger Perfect Medium, embossed it with detail white embossing powder from Cosmic Shimmer, then wet the card and dropped my turquoise Brusho onto it. This time, I wanted a more ‘washed’ effect behind the butterfly and flower, and saturated the grains very well, let them run all over the embossed images, just so the image would be highlighted by the background colour, as the embossing resisted the colour of the Brusho, as expected. (Was that a really long sentence? Did I waffle on a bit?)

I then added some Tonic Crystal Drops in Midnight Blue to three of the edges, stamped a sentiment from the Altenew stamp set ‘Birch Land’ and adhered that with foam pads.

I have four other colours of Brusho’s and I feel I may be making similar cards with similar effects in the very near future. However, I may also have to do an internet and YouTube search for hints and tips when using these – but still going to have fun experimenting with them.

I shall also be entering one of these cards into the following challenges:

Just add ink

Crafty Friends Challenge Blog