Hello and welcome! I’m so happy to share with you today a card project featuring the Graceful Butterfly embossing folder and dies from Simon Says Stamp. I love how easy this set is to use. The beautiful and versatile butterflies add instant elegance to any card.
I have used the butterfly images both plain and embossed for different card designs. But, recently, I have enjoyed using my embossing folders as a raised canvas for watercolor! I’m not a highly-skilled watercolorist, so this provides me some structure when experimenting with the wonderful world of watercolor.
Let’s start with the background of this card design. I began with an A2 sized (4 1/4 x 5 1/2) card panel and embossed with the geometric lattice folder by Simon Says Stamp. This folder gives such a deep and rich impression. I lightly misted my card stock before running it through my embossing machine. This helped prevent cracking in the paper.
I then sprayed my Arteza pastel watercolor mini pan set and filled my watercolor pen with a bit of water. Using the blues in the set, I gently swiped back and forth horizontally across the panel allowing the colors to move and mix together where they would naturally transition. I allowed white space to show through as the color seeped into the embossed crevices of the paper. I set it aside and allowed to dry.
While waiting on my background to dry, I started on my butterflies. I die cut and embossed the large, medium and small included in the set. I chose light pink, dark pink, peach, blue and purple for my watercolors. I dabbed the colors on the wings and allowed it to move and mix as it wanted. I would slightly dry using my heat tool on low setting in between my applications of light to darker pigment colors. I chose a light blue textured card stock to die cut the center of my butterflies and adhered them into place.
Once my background was dry, I took my Tsukineko Versamark ink pad and gently swept it across the panel making light contact with parts of the raised embossing. I sprinkled on copper embossing powder and heat set. I love how this brought in contrast and shine to the background! When securing the large and medium butterflies to the background, I applied liquid adhesive to the centerline only and applied pressure until fully dry. This allowed the wings to bend and move as needed for mailing and card display purposes. The smaller butterfly, I folded in half and adhered one wing down to the panel.
Final touches to this card design is the gorgeous copper embossed sentiment “Love You Always” from the Essential Sentiment stamp and coordinating diet set from Waffle Flower Crafts. I added dimension by die cutting and adhering a second layer with fun foam. Also, I added and tucked a few “Butterfly Kisses” sequins here and there to the card front. The colors and name of the sequins tied in so wonderfully to this overall design.
I hope you enjoyed today’s card project. Thank you so much for joining me today, and I look forward to seeing you next time!
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