As we head into the tail end of Summer I thought this card with it's tie died inspired butterflies would be an appropriate cap off to a summer that was unusual, to say the least.
Speaking of Summer, how was yours? This was a challenging one for me. The Italian retreats I host (www.pronetowanderretreats.com) were postponed to 2021, and my husband and I stayed home as much as possible. I found a lot of joy, and spent a lot of time, working on our gardens (floral and vegetable) and home improvement projects. As we head into Fall I don't see much changing... we'll continue to try and stay home as much as possible, trying to find joy in creating and making.
So, onto today's card. This one was a fun one. When choosing the ink colours I would use on the butterflies I referenced psychedelic tie dyed t-shirts which scream beachy summer weather to me. As you can see in my supply list, I used a lot of Distress ink markers on them. You could certainly get a similar look with fewer colours, but I liked the way it looked by trying to variegate the colours a bit on the stamp before watercolour stamping them. So, I coloured directly onto the rubber stamps with the Distress Markers, then holding a water spray bottle about 12 inches away from the stamp, I lightly misted it, pumping about 3-4 sprays onto the stamp then stamping it directly onto watercolour paper. You want to add enough water from the spray bottle to make the ink colours run a bit, but not enough that it's a soupy mess and the colours blend to such an extent that it's just a muddy mess. It's a fine line, and the more you practice the technique, the better you'll get at knowing how much water to add.
I picked patterned paper by choosing designs that brought out some of the colours from the butterflies. This design was perfect for using up some of the little left-over scraps of paper that were in my stash from previous projects.
Finally, to add depth, I sewed 3 old mother of pearl buttons to the left border of the card.
SUPPLY LIST:
Stamps: Nature Prints by Impression Obsession (butterflies), Summer Stems by The Stamp Market (greeting)
Ink pads: Twilight by Cathrine Pooler
Distress ink markers: Picked Raspberry, Victorian Velvet, Tumbled Glass, Evergreen Bough, Faded Jeans, Stormy Sky, Cracked Pistachio, Wild honey, Frayed Burlap, by Ranger
Cardstock: Solar White by Neenah (as my card base), Ranger Watercolor paper, bright yellow and dark aqua cardstock (unknown scraps from my stash)
Patterned paper: Journey by Crate Paper, Welcome Neighbour Designer Series by Stampin' Up!, Classic Calico by Studio Calico
Other: MISTI Stamp positioner (large or small, either will work for cards), Water Mist bottle Ranger or Hero Arts, 3 mother of pearl buttons and white thread.
