Butterfly Inspiration

Yesterday's butterfly post inspired me to try something a little different from my usual colorful butterfly projects!  This time I thought I would color outside the. . . well, butterfly!

I started with a beautiful sprinkle of flowers from a Unity KOM "Hey Girl" & repeatedly stamped it with iridescent embossing on vellum for a beautiful, sparkling background.  But here I am ~ trying to think outside of the box ~ so I put the background on top of  a single stamped image (in black) of the butterfly from Unity's KOM "Summer Collapsed into Fall".  The vellum is attached over white cardstock (cut larger for a white border) with double stick tape on the outside perimeter.

I knew the tape would show through the vellum, but I didn't expect it to show up yellow! Pretty!  So I incorporated it into the color scheme with the yellow-green card base.  The dusty lavender matt helps tie in the gray/silvery iridescence of the embossing. A soft wash of pink, blue & lavender under the vellum also helped it come alive without being too loud.

Live a Life Inspired sentiment is also from Unity Stamp Company! (Honestly, they have the best sentiments!!!)

If you would like to see my other posts featuring butterflies, just type Butterfly in the "Explore "Hi!" Notes" search box on the left!! To see more posts using Unity Stamps, type Unity, etc!!

Flowers & Butterflies

What's one of your favorite things about Summer?  ~OK, I agree, ice cream is one of my favorites too!  But while I was outside trimming trees and harvesting poppy seeds I couldn't help but appreciate the splash of beauty butterflies are.  When I was a kid I dreamed of being able to catch one of the rarely seen swallow tail butterflies floating around our barnyard & have a leisurely & up close look. . . but I never did!

Maybe that's why I have ump-teen butterfly dies and stamps!  They are so beautiful and the coloring options are just endless!  Very rewarding and cost effective since I use them so often!  This particular  one is cut out of black card stock with an underlay of splashy & vibrant water colors.

The background beauty is from Unity Stamp Co. SMAK kit "Choose A Happy Heart".  I embossed it in gold on pale peach paper & then colored in just some of it with white & orange & hot pink gel pen for a pleasant "pop"!  The black card it's mounted on was another way to pop the color.  I added a rectangle of the pale peach paper inside with the birthday sentiment.

Thanks for stopping by...
Hope your Summer is going well and you have a chance to sip some ice tea and enjoy the butterflies

Sing

Hello Again Fellow Paper Craft Lovers!!  I am really excited to share my latest with you!  The birds are part of the Unity Stamp Co KIT OF THE MONTH from the Always Been You 12/16 set.  I just love them & have lots of plans for them :)  Spring & Summer are just the perfect time to share them!

After water coloring the birds I put a soft gray wash behind them.  I had so much fun layering colors and embossing the various pieces. The little banners are made with washi tape layered on cardstock and the tumble of flowers with tiny gem centers were rubbed with a stylus to give them a 3D effct and glued down in the centers only.  For a full supply list see the end of this post :)

It's always fun to make the back a little special!

SUPPLY LIST:

Embossing Folders: Cricut Cuttlebug “Bit of Paisley” & Sizzix Stampin’ Up! Script

Flower Die: Spellbinders Shapeabilities Cherry Blossoms,

Stamped Sentiment: Unity Stamp Co “Devoted”

Be sure to check out the following blogs & challenges where I have entered this card!

Simon Says Wednesday Challenge Blog

Word Art Wednesday

Stamp Ink Paper

The Ribbon Girl

4 Crafty Chicks

Fusion

Day 2 Growing in Unity ~ Encouragment

~ DAY 2 OF GROWING IN UNITY ~

 Welcome Friends! Whether you're ready to craft or just here to  explore, I hope today finds you feeling great and full of invincible spirit! 

Wouldn't you agree though, that sometimes we all need encouragement, especially when we find ourselves in the eye of the storm.  If that is you then even just making this next project may remind you to persevere,  and this too shall pass. . .  If you know someone going through a difficult time don't underestimate how much difference a note card of encouragement can make.

If any of you have teen agers at home you know how full of storms their lives can be. This little reminder is for my teen to display on an easel in her book shelf. (She loves ocean motifs)  I loved this design so much I decided to make a card to go along with the shelf sitter.  Both are made with the same techniques but different sentiments of hope and encouragement.

My idea was to use the cascading stars as the night sky mirrored by the deep, deep, dark ocean.  Unity has SO MANY great sentiments I would love to use with this design.  Like "A Certain Darkness is needed to see the stars" or John 14:27, or "the only time you should ever look back is to see how far you've come" ~ oh, and so many more!!

For Georgia I decided on "What Lies Within Us"  Great for a teen I think!  The card quotes Aslan from the Narnia Chronicles  "Courage Dear Heart."

I started with white cardstock proportionately deeper than the ship stamp.  I embossed the stars with white ink, a sprinkle of prismatic glitter and clear embossing powder.  I then rubbed them with the various inks pictured.  I wanted the depths to be very dark! 

PLEASE REMEMBER TO CLICK ON THE PHOTOS TO SEE THEM SUPER-SIZE & READ THE NOTES

The sky is star embossed navy cardstock & the addition of a tiny bit of gold glitter for added twinkle!  The horizon is shaded with  black ink.  I then decided that the giant swirl stamp from Unity's kit "Art & Soul" would make a great looking storm.  Samped in Stampin' Up!'s Illuminate Craft Ink (a glimmer watermark), It adds a clear silvery iridescence.  I stamped it pretty heavily.

Another note about coloring: I began by brightly coloring the ship's sails. Then I realized this was a night scene, so I added shadows to them with Zig watercolor oatmeal pen.  The difference is shown at right

Don't forget to leave your comment. 2 winners will be chosen from those who've  left comments on all 5 GIU posts on this blog!!!

A favorite song of hope ~ In The Eye of the Storm by Ryan Stevenson.  You can hear it here:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-sx8wTnnfSc  along with a  beautiful pictorial of all the words. 

 

HERE ARE THE DIRECT LINKS TO THE RUBBER STAMPS USED IN THESE PROJECTS:

Small ship - Other Side of Fear  https://www.unitystampco.com/shop/other-side-of-fear/

What Lies Within Us {kom 11/14}  https://www.unitystampco.com/shop/what-lies-within-us-kom-1114/
Courage, Dear Heart https://www.unitystampco.com/shop/courage-dear-heart/
Midnight Kisses {kom 11/16}   https://www.unitystampco.com/shop/midnight-kisses-kom-1116/
Storm Swirl - Art & Soul  https://www.unitystampco.com/shop/art-soul/