Hard and Soft

It is snowing gobs and gobs here in North Dakota! I am not yet wishing for spring because I'm still reveling in the soft, fluffy flakes but apparently my craft brain is.

My wonderful and amazing Aunt Jerrie from Coloring Outside the Linez sent me a package which included a new Spellbinders stencil and a couple of die cut butterflies with the following note "Ready. Set. Create!"

I can't resist a good dare. ;)

I saw this image over at Runway Inspired Sketches:

and it just reminded me so much of a butterfly with all the intricate lines. I love the great Herve Leger, who is most well known for his bandage dresses and jaw-dropping optical illusion creating dresses. So I am incorporating both a butterfly and the colors from this photo into my design. 

I also wanted to play along with Verve Stamps Diva Dare this month - which is "Vellum Visions". I did a play on hard and soft, using embossing paste for the "hard" and vellum for the "soft". 

I began by swirling shades of pink and orange Distress Inks onto a piece of white cardstock. 

Then I used the awesome Spellbinders stencil my aunt mailed to me and used Wendy Vecchi's Crackled Embossing Paste:

Next, I put clear embossing powder over the paste, and dried it with a heat tool, letting it crack and pop. 

I used the Wishing You set from Verve to create my sentiment and layered polka-dotted vellum over the butterfly and plain vellum behind my sentiment to create a delicate softness. I also added sequins from Verve's Shine Bright sequin mix. 

Somehow, I managed to forget to take a picture of the inside. I made this card for my friend, Jessi Fogan in honor of her birthday - so if you see it before you get it in the mail, Jessi, act surprised! :) The inside says "A Very Happy Birthday".

I also made another one to send to my aunt as a thank you, of course. Hers says "The Best Day Ever!" on the inside. :) 

Thanks for stopping by! Follow my blog and leave me a comment, and I'll be sure to return the favor. As for now, since it's so snowy outside I'm off to cuddle on the couch and eat some popcorn. Ahhhh! This is the life.