When words fail

Innovative Design Styles for Your Cardmaking

Would you like to play around with a design like this? You'll find a supply list below, including a link to the stencil I used from A Colorful Life Designs . Follow the link below and use discount code ChrisFan10 to save 10% on your entire order! (Master Creator Bundles are excluded as they already have a 20% discount built in.)

Getting started

Card Base: 4.25 x 11, scored and folded at 5.5

Card Face: 4 x 5.25

Small scrap of cardstock for sentiment

Card Face: I used the very beautiful Butterfly Flight stencil for this card, and combined it with a sparkling white embossing paste. I decided to run the image up the left hand side of the card, and keep the rest of the card face clean.

Technique:

• it can be helpful to use Pixie Spray on the back of the stencil when using pastes, gels, glazes etc. I typically wait at least 30 seconds after spraying before I lay the stencil on the card face. I use a small breyer at that point , rolling it over the entire surface to ensure good contact. Once this is done the images remain clean and crisp.

• When using a paste - as I did here - I scoop some out of the jar and put it onto the image towards the top. Then I use a flat edge to pull it down the stencil. This can be a stencil buddy, an expired gift card, anything that is firm and gives that flat edge and allows you to pull it smoothly over the face of the stencil.

• Once you have covered the desired area, you can scrape any excess back into the jar to use in the future, and then get the stencil and anything else that has paste on it into water asap. ** I don't have running water in my craft room, so when I'm working with this type of medium I have a dish of water beside me for everything to go into (the water prevents the paste from turning into cement and ruining your stencil). When I'm finished I take them to the sink for a good scrub.

Other: I used black pigment ink to stamp the sentiment. I immediately coated it with clear embossing powder and brought in my (preheated) heat gun to melt the powder.

With this done I used a rectangular die to cut it out, and put a bit of dimensional tape on the back.

Assembly:

• I glued the card face to the card base.

• I removed the backing from the dimensional tape, and put the sentiment in place on the card.

• I wanted one final touch on the card, so I added a very tiny clear butterfly to the sentiment (which sadly will not photograph well no matter how many times I try!)

Final thoughts: I love how this card turned out. It's a very simple design but it has an elegance. The embossing paste makes the butterflies slightly dimensional, and the sparkle prevents the card from being too stark.

Supplies:

stencil: Butterfly Flight, A Colorful Life Designs

embossing paste: Stampin' Up!

Pixie Spray: (purchased in Canada to avoid difficulty at import) Scrap n' Stamp, Papercrafters Workshop, Scrapshotz

black ink: any pigment ink will work (the pad I use is old and retired!)

clear embossing powder:: Wow, Amazon, Simon Says Stamp

rectangle die: Stampin' Up!

dimensional tape: Dollarama

adhesive: Tombo Aqua, Amazon, Simon Says Stamp:

card base: Accent 100 lb, Amazon

black card stock for card face: Stampin' Up!