Flutter By

A week or so ago the crafty group I hang out with on Facebook posed the challenge to use a stamp that hasn't been used in three or more months. It was perfect timing as I had just dug up the stamp shown above while I was searching for Blockheads stamps to use for butterfly month. I'd actually forgotten that I even had this stamp! Well, not forgotten, not really, but... I did have to dig a little to remember where I'd stored it.

The main stamp used is from Blockheads set Vintage Portraits, and the vine-y looking stamp is from the Grunge It Up set.

For this card, I started by stamping the main image on glossy cardstock using Jet Black StazOn ink. I then stamped mostly just the butterfly on three scrap pieces of glossy. I colored in the butterflies with a yellow water-based marker, cut them out, and set them aside.

I colored in the main image using a combination of markers and my Dove Blender Pen and Distress Inks. Then I used a sponge to color the edges and outside of the image. Once done with all that, I glued one of the yellow butterflies over the existing butterfly just to give it a little added dimension.

Moving on to the background... I stamped the flowery thing, again using StazOn, onto yellow cardstock. I then took a water-based black marker and outlined the butterfly directly on the rubber stamp. This is a neat way to use just part of a bigger stamp - a technique that I use all the time. I gave the butterfly a little extra oomph by coloring it in with same shade of yellow marker. Then I ripped just part of the cardstock and distressed it by scrubbing the same yellow ink over it.

I added the strip of blue just to bring the colors together since the lady's eyes are blue and the circle is blue. Then I glued on the remaining butterflies. And with that, the card was done!

I know I talk often about using my blender pen with inks. I have to say, it's the best and most cost-effective way to color images. Plus, that way you don't have to worry about colors matching, since every color you use is from the ink pads that you use. It's way cheaper than investing in a big pile of markers - for the price of the $10 starter kit, I have access to as many different colors as I have ink pads! Also, blender pens allow you to vary the shade of the colors and blend one color into another. They are very long lasting. Once you're done with a color, simply swipe the excess off onto a piece of scrap paper and dab the tip of the pen onto a different ink color. Okay. I will now step down from my blender pen pedestal.