Tag Archives: Butterflies

Daisy Dreams Card Tutorial

Happy Heartfelt Creations Wednesday, my friends!

It is truly springtime here in North Carolina. The whole world is dressed up as though it is getting ready to go to a fancy dress ball. Bradford Pears are adorned in layers of foamy white blossoms, tender leaves are popping out in myriad shades of green, and along the road, the wispy branches of red buds add delightful pops of color.  Yellow forsythia bells ring out the glad news that winter is past, and spring has come to stay.  It’s all so beautiful, it almost makes my heart pop!  I wanted to capture the exuberance and beauty of early springtime on this Daisy Dreams card tutorial for Heartfelt Creations Wednesday.

Daisy Dreams HC March 27, 2015 08aI combined beautiful Peacock Paisley papers with Delightful Daisies stamps and dies to create a dreamy springtime base for this top fold card. For the card focal, I used my favorite stamp from the Butterfly Medley Collection.  Dream in Beauty was inked up with Ranger Archival Cobalt ink and stamped directly onto the open space on the card panel. This was heat embossed with clear ink, and “colored” in with Diamond Stickles.

Daisy Dreams HC March 27, 2015 05Then I stamped Dream in Beauty onto clear cardstock and die cut just the butterfly with the Botanical Wings Die.  I colored the back side of the butterfly with assorted alcohol markers (see the tutorial below for details) and heated it gently so that I could shape the wings.  I glued it onto the card base with Glossy Accents.  I added more Stickles to the stamped flourishes and the butterfly body , then lightly sprinkled the whole thing with Mustard Seed Distress Glitter because it looks like pollen.  I just love the glitz and shine on that butterfly, don’t you?

Daisy Dreams HC March 27, 2015 11aThe frothy, poufy bow was tied with white organza to mimic the feel of those Bradford Pear blossoms I was talking about earlier.  I tapped it lightly with some of the same inks I used to color the daisies.

Daisy Dreams HC March 27, 2015 02aYou can see a little peeky of the inside of the card here.  I just used another panel of the same paper found on the front of the card, and left room to write a nice note.

Wishing you a glorious springtime and Daisy Dreams!

Cheerio,

kathy

Daisy Dreams Card TUTORIAL

HCST1-401 Deluxe Flower Shaping Kit
HCDP1 252 Peacock Paisley Paper Collectin
HCPC 3655 Dream in Beauty Cling Stamps
HCPC 3656 Delightful Daisies Cling Stamps
HCD 758 Botanical Wings Die
HCD 760 Delightful Daisies Die
GBCC811 8.5″ x 11″ clear cardstock
130524 Distress Crackle Paint

Other Products: White Cardstock, Spring Green Cardstock (DCWV); Archival Ink: Cobalt, Butterscotch, Sap Green; Clear Embossing Powder; Diamond Stickles; Spectrum Noir Pens: JG4, GT2, BT6, BT7, GB3, FL3; Gold Painty Pen, Colorbox Primary Pastel Paintbox Chalk Ink, Colorbox Blossom Paintbox Chalk Ink; 1″ wide organza ribbon; Prima Raja Flower Centers; Mustard Seed Distress Glitter

Directions: Create a 5.5″ x 6″ top fold card base from the spring green cardstock. Cut a 5.25″ 5.75″ rectangle of the dark navy daisy paper from the Peacock Paisley collection. Cut a 5″ x 5.5″ rectangle of the light green daisy border paper from the collection and mat with the dark navy. Stamp this panel with the “Dream in Beauty” stamp using cobalt ink. Heat emboss with clear embossing powder. Wrap the ribbon around the bottom edge about 1/2″ from the card base. Top with the bow. Brush the butterfly with Diamond Stickles and set aside to dry.

While the butterfly is drying, stamp and die cut several sets of the Delightful Daisies using cobalt, butterscotch and sap green ink onto white cardstock. Shape and stack. Sponge with a mix of blue and yellow inks from the Chalkbox Paintboxes. Paint with Distress Crackle Paint, sprinkle with Distress Glitter and set aside to dry. When dry, hot glue the Raja flower centers in place and arrange the flowers onto the prepared card base.

Stamp the “Dream in Beauty” stamp a second time onto the clear cardstock. Heat emboss carefully with clear embossing powder and die cut with the Botanical Wings die. You will probably have to run through your machine several times to cut out the butterfly and add cardstock shims as needed. Color the back of the butterfly with Spectrum Noir Markers and Painty Pen. Bend the wings upwards to look like a butterfly in flight. Add Stickles to the back side of the wings and set aside to dry. When completely dry, glue on top of the stamped butterfly on the card base. Add Stickles to the flourishes and butterfly antennae.

Beautiful Ribbon Butterfly Card Tutorial

Beautiful Ribbon Butterfly Card Tutorial for the Really Reasonable Ribbon Bright Spring Colors Challenge

Hello, Friends!  It’s time for another great challenge over at the Really Reasonable Ribbon Blog.  This one is all about using bright spring colors and ribbons on your cards.  What fun!  I created this beautiful ribbon butterfly tutorial to share with you today.

Beautiful Ribbon Butterfly/Kathy by Design for Really Reasonable Ribbon

Beautiful Ribbon Butterfly/Kathy by Design for Really Reasonable Ribbon

Here’s what you need to make this card:

RRR Bright Spring Ribbons Tute 01Gather your materials.  Die cut the butterfly from the watercolor paper.

RRR Bright Spring Ribbons Tute 02Cut a 5.5″ square of plain white cardstock.  Secure the first ribbon strip from corner to corner in the center of this panel, securing with Scor-Tape.

RRR Bright Spring Ribbons Tute 03Add each ribbon, checking it’s placement against the evacuated die cut.  As you can see here, I didn’t run each piece of ribbon all the way across the cardstock, I just made sure it filled the evacuated space.

RRR Bright Spring Ribbons Tute 04Trim any edges, and set this piece aside in a safe place because we are about to get inky!

RRR Bright Spring Ribbons Tute 05

Smoosh your Distress Ink onto your non-stick craft sheet.  Try not to overlap the colors,

RRR Bright Spring Ribbons Tute 06Spray the smooshed ink until little beads of color appear, then drag your evacuated die cut through the puddles of ink.  Repeat this until you have the color you want, using a heat tool to dry each layer between applications.

RRR Bright Spring Ribbons Tute 07Pick up any little “blobs” of ink to add some interesting detail to the panel.  It’s all according to what YOU like!

RRR Bright Spring Ribbons Tute 08Ink the inner and outer edges with Shaded Lilac Distress Ink and a sponge applicator.  Again, according to your taste.  Flick and spritz the watercolor paper with your mister until it’s just the way you like it! Run it through the embossing folder.  Run a little Picket Fence Distress Stain over the embossed areas to soften the color if you like.  I liked, so I did that, but you might want the brighter colors.  Then, attach to the prepared ribbon base either with stitching or Scor-Tape.

RRR Bright Spring Ribbons Tute 10Here you can see the close up of the embossing.  I filled a tiny glass vial with seed beads, wrapped it with Iridescent White Metallic String and then hot glued it as the center of my butterfly body.  The little shimmery bits on the card are pieces of Iridescent string that separated when I cut it, and they were so pretty, I attached them to the card with glue.  Just for fun.

RRR Bright Spring Ribbons Tute 11I didn’t want to add any more color to this card, but I did want to add some shimmer and shine, so I tied a big fluffy bow with the white organza ribbon, topping it with more iridescent string and a cluster of Ivory Sweetheart Blossoms that I tapped with Shaded Lilac DI.   The metal word strip was in my stash, but it was solid pewter, so I colored it with my Spectrum Noir alcohol pens, and I like the way it turned out.

I hope you’ll give this fun technique a try! No go get your craft on and create your own beautiful project with bright spring colors and ribbon!  I’ll see you over on the RRR Blog!

Cheerio,

kathy

I’m linking this card to the following challenges:

Word Art Wednesday Challenge # 175: Anything Goes

Party Time Tuesdays #196 Anything Goes

 

Plant Joy!

Heartfelt Creations Wednesday: Plant Joy!

Hello, Friends!  I am so excited about today’s post! I’ve created a sweet little vignette using the beautiful Butterfly Medley Collection from Heartfelt Creations.  Take a peeky:

Plant Joy HC Butterfly Medley 04aI used 4″ coasters and loads of handmade flowers, a sweet little rusted wagon that I found in my stash, Spanish Moss and a darling little bird nest to create this tiny tableau. The coasters are joined together with a unique fastener called Flip Flop Fasteners.  They look sort of like butterfly first aid strips, and they allow you to create a sort of adhesive “hinge.”  They work perfectly for this project. I shared the link, because  knew you would want to know about them.

Plant Joy HC Butterfly Medley 11aThe beautiful Botanical Rose Cling Stamps allow you to stamp 6 gorgeous flowers all at the same time, and then you can die cut them all at once using the Botanical Wings Die.

Plant Joy HC Butterfly Medley 09Here’s a top view of all those pretty posies, and the sweet little birds in their nest, too.

Plant Joy HC Butterfly Medley 07This project looks complicated, but I actually had it completed in just a few hours.  You definitely need a hot glue gun for this one, though!

Plant Joy HC Butterfly Medley 08

 

I accented this piece with ribbon, of course.  The Grape Satin Ribbon was a great color match for the papers and flowers.  I topped it with some sweet purple/green confetti dot ribbon on the bottom panel.  For the top panel, I topped it with beautiful Light Orchid Butterfly Grosgrain Ribbon.  A match made in heaven!

Plant Joy HC Butterfly Medley 05To hold the back panel up, I cut one of the coasters into a sort of easel shape.  You can read how I did this in the tutorial below, or you can find loads of tutorials online.  Mine is fairly primitive, but it works!

Plant Joy HC Butterfly Medley 03aIt was a frigid, snowy day when I made this project, but I forgot all about it….these flowers and birds and butterflies gave me my own private Springtime!

Plant Joy HC Butterfly Medley 02a

 

I hope this Plant Joy! vignette brings a little Springtime cheer your way as well!  You’ll find a complete supply list and step by step directions below!

Thanks for stopping by!

Cheerio,

kathy

TUTORIAL

Butterfly Medley Plant Joy Tutorial

Heartfelt Creations Products and Products Carried by HC:
HCDP1 251 Butterfly Medley Paper Collection
HCPC 3651 Botanical Rose Cling Stamps
HCPC 3650 Butterfly Medley Cling Stamps
HCD 759 Butterfly Medley Die
HCD 760 Botanical Wings Die
HCST1 401 Deluxe Flower Shaping Kit
Art Glitter Glue with metal tip

Other Products: Cardstock: Whisper White, Perfect Plum; Archival Ink: Black, Rose Madder, Magenta Hue; Distress Ink: Forest Moss; Distress Stain: Shaded Lilac, Dusty Concord, Milled Lavender: Tattered Angels Mountain Mist Spray; Antique Bronze Distress Paint; Spanish Moss, ribbons, seed beads, hot glue gun; rusted wagon, four 4″ square coasters. Flip Flop Fastener tapes, small bird nest.

Directions:

Stamp two sets of Botanical Roses onto white cardstock, using Rose Madder for one and Magenta Hue for the other. Heat emboss with clear embossing powder. Die cut. Color with Distress Stains. Shape and stack. Spray with TA Mist. Use Art Glitter Glue to add seed beads to the centers. Set aside to dry. Stamp the leaves onto green patterned paper from the collection using Forest Moss Distress Ink. Heat Emboss, die cut and shape. Stamp the butterflies onto white cardstock using Jet Black Archival Ink. Heat emboss. Die cut. Color with Distress Stains. Shape wings. Set aside to dry.

Use the flip flop fastener tape to join the two coasters. Cover the base coaster with the green paper and the top coaster with the 6″ card front that features the seed packets. Cut the paper so that you keep the words “Plant Joy.” Trim the striped section from the card front paper and mat onto purple cardstock so that the words “Life is Good” are in the top right hand corner. Wrap with ribbons, tying the butterfly ribbon into a square knot. Glue this panel onto the coaster, as shown. Glue the two butterflies onto this coaster, as shown.

Randomly brush Antique Bronze Distress Paint onto the body of the wagon and onto the wagon wheels. On the bottom coaster, use hot glue to secure the wagon to the base paper. Add Spanish Moss around the base of the wheels to resemble grass. Fill the wagon with Spanish moss and glue the small bird nest into place. Place the shaped, colored flowers and leaves as desired, using hot glue gun to secure. Wrap ribbon around the base as shown. Use foam adhesive to secure the stamp to the left hand corner. Fill the wagon with the prepared flowers and leaves.

Glue the 3rd coaster onto the back of the top coaster. Create an easel back with the 4th coaster so that the top coaster will stand up at an angle. I did this by cutting a 1/5″ slit about 3/4″ from the right hand side of the coaster base. Next, cut another 1.5″ slit toward the center of the coaster. Then cut a small triangle from the top of the first cut to the center of the coaster base. Fold toward the left. This will form your easel. Glue the easel back onto the back of the top coaster, being careful not to glue down the easel leg.

Make Your Own Memo Pad

Make Your Own Memo Pad with Crafty Secrets Vintage Typography CD

Hello Friends!

As promised, I’m back today to share a quick tutorial that will show you how to make your own memo pad with Crafty Secrets Vintage Typography CD and a couple simple supplies.  This is a quick make, so it’s the perfect item to make up and have on hand for last minute gifts…and if you are like me, you will want to keep one of these in your purse, on your desk and beside the phone at all times!  Here’s a peeky:

CS Memo book 01

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I began by printing out an 8″ square of the butterfly collage paper found in the Crafty Secrets Creating with Vintage Typography CD. I used canvas paper to print on for a couple of reasons.  One, I love the texture…it looks like a canvas, which is very cool!  Secondly, I love the durability of this paper…it is tough stuff…but easy to work with.  And three, it prints out beautifully! You can find this in a pad at most craft stores in the fine arts section.  It’s great for mixed media, too.

Butterfly memo tutorial 01Once I had printed my paper, I rounded the corners with a 1/2″ corner chomper.  Then I spritzed and spattered the papers with Tattered Angels Crushed Shells Glimmer Mist to increase the distressed look.  Next, I scored the paper at 4″ and creased it. to form my cover.  Then, I stitched around the cover on my sewing machine…just a simple straight stitch.

After this, I took 12 sheets of plain printer paper and trimmed them to 7 3/4″ square.  I found the center by folding in half, and then scored each sheet and rounded the corners.

Butterfly memo tutorial 02

Once this was done, I stacked all the papers on top of one another, making sure the crease was lined up perfectly.  Then I centered them inside the printed cover, and used alligator clips to hold them in place.  I stitched straight up the center crease…slooooowly, so my needle wouldn’t break…..from top to bottom.  I used my guillotine to trim off any overhang…and the hard part of the job was finished!

CS Memo book 02I lined the inside covers with more papers from the Vintage Typography CD.  If you look closely here, you can see the stitching.  That’s why you want to use canvas paper for the cover…it holds up to the sewing, but is a little bit porous, too, so it lets the needle through.

CS Memo book 01a

To decorate the cover, I ran three strips of 1/2″ Scor-Tape from the front edge all the way around to the edge of the back cover.  I cut a 14″ length of Brown Burlap Center Stitch Ribbon through the center, to act as a closure for the book.  Then I just added a strip of Birds on a Vine Natural Cotton/Linen ribbon above and below this.  A big wooden button was sewed on top to keep with the natural, botanical feel.  Then I cut the tag from our Adventure and Travel Cuts sheet, distressed and inked the edges .  I topped this with a pretty butterfly print from our Birds and Botanical Booklet.  I treated this with UTEE wrapped it with jute string and added a little charm.  Easy peasy!

Honestly, it took me longer to write this post than it took to make this little notebook!  I hope you’ll make your own memo pad with Crafty Secrets Vintage Typography!  It’s loads of fun!

Thanks for stopping by!

Cheerio,

kathy

Burlap Butterfly Canvas

Burlap Butterfly Canvas with Craft Secrets Vintage Typography CD

Hello Friends!  I’m just popping in very quickly today to share a super fun Burlap Butterfly Canvas that I made with the Crafty Secrets Vintage Typography CD.

Burlap Butterfly Canvas/Kathy by Design

Burlap Butterfly Canvas/Kathy by Design for Crafty Secrets

This is a large 10″ x 10″  Stretched burlap canvas from Canvas Corp.  I bought this because I wanted to add some botanical art to my living room, and I love the look of natural burlap with a botanical image. While I was trolling through the Vintage Typography CD (my favorite!) I found this wonderful butterfly collage, and lightning struck my brain!  I’d create my wall art with this gorgeous collage, some sticky back canvas, and some of my mom’s vintage lace.

Crafty Secrets Butterfly Canvas 02If you’ve never worked with sticky back canvas, it’s a really great product.  It’s basically just a canvas sheet that is backed with a peel-off adhesive layer.  it runs through your printer with ease, and creates a printed project with fabulous texture.  I printed my butterfly collage to 8″ square, stitched around the edges, peeled off the back, pressed my mom’s lace around back side and then added a layer of 1/2″ Scor-Tape to the edges and sides to ensure that it would stay stuck.  I added large copper brads to the corners and a bit of vintage measuring tape to the bottom, to anchor the piece.

Crafty Secrets Butterfly Canvas 07The texture of the printed canvas is wonderful when combined with the burlap frame.  I misted with Tattered Angels Crushed Shells Glimmer Mist and tapped the canvas with a little Crushed Pistachio Distress Paint.  I wanted to bring out the pretty blue green in the canvas, as that is the color that goes with my living room.

Crafty Secrets Butterfly Canvas 04Here is closer look at the base of the canvas.  I painted the letters in the metal tag with Crushed Pistachio ink and then secured it to the canvas using some Mint Jute String.  The canvas looked great, but it needed a focal…some larger image that would catch the eye and give it a place to rest.  The solution was simple.  I used my photo editing program to crop out the butterfly in the center of the collage, enlarged it, and printed it out on canvas PAPER.  Then I fussy cut it, treated it with UTEE, backed it with a tea stained doily that I found in a local thrift store and voila!  Instant focal.

Crafty Secrets Butterfly Canvas 06I added a painted pen nib to the center…and I love the way this looks.  In fact, I loved the texture of the canvas paper so much, that I printed a second 8″ square and turned it into a handy  memo book….and I’ll come back later to share that with you.  It’s pretty cool, and a really fun gift idea.

This is a super quick, super fun project!  The gorgeous butterfly collage is perfect for the botanical trend in home decor, and you could print it out as large as your printer can handle.  It would make super cute pillows, too.  It only took me about an hour from concept to completion…which is faster than I could go to the store and back!  If you don’t have this wonderful Vintage Typography CD from Crafty Secrets….you should!  It is a treasure trove of inspirational artwork, vintage ephemera, vintage papers and incredible collages.  It is easily my favorite Crafty Secrets “secret weapon” and if I could only have ONE item in my crafty stash (God forbid!) this would probably be it!I

http://craftyvintagegirl.com/media/catalog/product/cache/1/image/9df78eab33525d08d6e5fb8d27136e95/c/d/cd_flyer-3_1.jpg

I’ll be back  tomorrow to show you the cute memo book I made with this same butterfly collage.  I hope seeing this Burlap Butterfly Canvas has inspired you today!

Thanks for stopping by!

Cheerio,

kathy