Big Bold Butterfly for Paper Players #299

Initially I had been tempted to use this colors to make a masculine card and was even more tempted to make a card using the stars and strips, but…… I decided to challenge myself and see how else I could use them.   Then I remembered that I had received a new stamp in the post and thought that I would try to use that instead.

 

Here's my card for the challenge:

 

 

I began by inking up the stamp with the FunStampersJourney hybrid ink called Denim Days and stamped it onto Arches hot pressed watercolor paper.  I then used my Zig Markers and my Wink of Stella pen to color the butterfly wings.   I know you can't see it – but the wings have a beautiful shimmer from the Wink of Stella.      I then fussy cut the butterfly and worked on the background.   I used the same color ink to create a background from a stencil.  I then mounted everything to the card base, ensuring that the butterfly wings were raised with foam dots.     

 

I stamped the sentiment and cut it out but wasn't sure where to put it!  I then realized that I could re-stamp the body of the butterfly and tuck the sentiment between the original image and the new stamped image that I had fussy cut.   I glued down the sentiment along the edge of the body and the wing and then glued the second body over the top and left it to dry.

 

If you are looking for some amazing inspiration, you have to look no further than the design team cards:

• Claire
• Joanne
• Leanne
• Laurie
• Nance 
• Sandy
• Linda
• Hannelie
• Colleen

Before I close out on the Paper Players challenge – I wanted to let you know that next week is our 300th birthday challenge!  I can hardly believe that we have been creating cards – and we create for 50 weeks of the year – and that we are reaching our 300th challenge.   Some of the design team will be offering up blog candy to celebrate this amazing milestone – including me – so I hope you will come back and check out our challenge next week.

On a personal note:

I am so glad that I am usually a couple of weeks ahead creating my cards.  If I hadn't, I wouldn't be able to have participated in either the Addicted to CAS or Paper Players challenges this week.   I am missing being in my craft room, but stamping is difficult with the use of one hand and just my thumb and forefinger on the other hand.   However, I think I have found a way to be able to craft without needing to stamp.  I bought a card kit created by Anna Griffin and all I need to do is arrange the elements and glue them down.   I'm going to try and see if I can handle that so that I can at least go and do a little crafting.

Want to see a couple of photos?   I know some of you do 🙂

Lou called me over last week to get a photo of this guy that was hanging around in our prairie garden.  He was all nice and wet and healthy and it was wonderful to see him.  We have only seen 2 of them since we moved into our home 4 years ago.

You can read more about the Northern Leopard Frog at this link.

I was out wandering the garden and came across some ladybeetles.  Nothing like the normal Asian Ladybugs that we see.  I wish I had managed to get a look at this guys head… but he kept walking down the leaf and up the underside and I never managed to see him fully.   I love how bright red he is though – and how clear his spots are.

Whilst I was out and about – I snapped a photo of our back garden.  It's not an angle I take a photo of very often, but I was struck by how much everything had grown in during the last couple of years.  We are very keen to see what blooms this year!

I'll be back with another post in a couple of days.  In the meantime, warm hugs and prayers to those of you who need a little lift tonight.

Hugs

Jaydee

Card receipe:

• Stamp:  Big Butterfly – Indigo Blu
• Inks:  Denim Days (Fun Stampers Journey), Zig watercolor markers
• Cardstock:  Arches hot pressed water color paper.  Denim Days (Fun Stampers Journey)