In the Studio with Kelly

My good friend, Kelly, came by to spend some time with me in the art studio today. Her plan was to make Valentine's cards for her husband and two boys; as well she needed to make a birthday card for her niece. Kelly also wanted to try out some new "toys" she got for Christmas (Spellbinders, Sizzix die-cut and Cuttlebug embossing folders). We had fun playing with all her new toys and she managed to get the birthday card and one of the Valentine's cards done before she had to head off. Kelly also brought Har Gow for lunch for us (steamed shrimp dumplings that is usually served at Dim Sum) ... they were sooooo delicious!! Thank you Kelly!

On to the card for today. I tried out one of Kelly's new embossing folders and used it for the card below. I love how this turned out. I was inspired by this beautiful card by Susie Nelson on SCS. Thanks Susie for the inspiration ... I just love the neutral tones of this card. Hope you like.

"Victorian Butterfly"

Stamps: En Francais (SU!)
Paper: Soft Suede, Whisper White, Crumb Cake, Elegant Soiree DP (SU!)
Ink: Crumb Cake, Soft Suede (SU!)
Accessories & Tools: Sizzix Bigz Beautiful Butterflies die-cut, Cuttlebug "Victorian" embossing folder, Big Shot, Kaiser Pearl Brads (Chocolate), Soft Suede Taffeta ribbon, hole punch, sponges, bone folder, sticky strips, glue dots and dimensionals

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I ran a large piece of Whisper White cardstock through my Big Shot with the Victorian embossing folder. I sponged Crumb Cake ink on top of the embossing to highlight it further.

I inked the En Francais stamp with Soft Suede ink and stamped onto Crumb Cake cardstock. I ran the stamped cardstock through my Big Shot, cutting out the smaller of the butterflies. I ran the die-cut through again, cutting the larger butterfly out of Elegant Soiree DP. I lined the two butterflies on top of each other and punched a hole through the middle. I sponged the edges of both butterflies with Soft Suede ink and then used my bone folder to curl down the wings of the butterflies. I used two glue dots to secure the butterflies together (just above and below the hole punch) and then placed the Chocolate pearl brad through the hole.

I wrapped the Soft Suede Taffeta ribbon around the end of my embossed cardstock and tied a knot just above center. I used sticky strips to mount the embossed cardstock onto a card base of Soft Suede (which had the edges sponged with Soft Suede ink to add interest).

I mounted the butterfly onto the front of the card, popping it up with dimensionals to add depth.