Sunday, April 12, 2020

Color Burst Butterflies

Not everything is bad about this crisis. Hear me out. 

All over the world, people are coming together in unique ways. Zoom rooms, Skype chats, FaceTime - people of all ages are getting in on a real technological revolution. And we're finding out just how many of those meetings could have been emails after all. 

handmade-ken-oliver-color-burst-card-butterfly-stamped


I'm so pleased to say that tonight, the technological revolution allowed me to "meet" one of my bloggy idols, Lauren Bergold of ...all the GOOD blog names were taken. I've followed her for years and gushed over all her amazing cards. Her instagram account is my absolute favorite because she's just a one-woman explorer of all things colorful. 

As I said on my last blog post, I've been playing along with some of the challenges Paper Anthology has released on their Facebook page. And they also also do nightly Zoom calls! So this North Dakota girl had fun crafting away in isolation, while getting to chat with some amazing crafters from New Jersey. 

I decided to play along with the You're not the Emboss of me challenge. 

Image may contain: text

Since I was feeling especially Springy (even though it definitely snowed today *facepalm*), I pulled out these gorgeous butterflies from the STAMPlorations Trendy Butterflies 2 set along with some classy gold embossing powder. 


I used mixed media paper with the sole intention of breaking out the vivid loveliness of Ken Oliver Color Bursts. 

watercoloring-stamped-cards

I dipped my paintbrush into the water and wet the paper before sprinkling on the powders. 



Then I used a damp paintbrush to spread the powders. In order to create a gradient with watercolors, I rinsed out the paintbrush and then pulled out the color along the edge. Repeat the rinsing, and continue to pull the color out by running a wet brush along the edge. 



These are the colors I used for my creation and I think they're lovely. I was just going to use one, but the owner of Paper Anthology, Elizabeth, told me to use at least two colors, probably three. Boy, was she ever right. See? The magic of technology at work. 

I stamped the butterflies again on some vellum so I could do an overlay and add a little bit of dimension. 



Ta-daaaa! I finished this little lovely with a gold border and an embossed sentiment from Verve (now retired, sadly). 

I'm going to end this bliggity blog with a little PSA - support your local stamp and papercraft store right now because they absolutely need it in order to survive! Paper Anthology is a prime example. They are currently shut down now due to shelter in place mandates, and that has cut off all source of income. They've created some classes in a kit that they will mail right to you! 


Also linking this up to the current STAMPlorations Theme and Sketch Challenge, where I used their theme of Stamps and Flight. 

10 comments:

  1. Wowee Becca this is stunning - love the vibrant colours and how you have used/manipulated the powders. Loving those gold and delicately dimensional butterflies
    Stay safe
    Blessings
    Maxine

    ReplyDelete
  2. Stunning card Becca!! Loved the color combination and loved the color burst use. Thanks for playing along at STAMPlorations Theme and Photo Prompt Challenge! :)
    Hugs xx

    ReplyDelete
  3. ok before i get distracted by your lovely words can i just say YOWZA what a flippin' card!!!! colorburst is ALWAYS a good idea, lol, but you've taken it to the next level. i want to try the rinse and pull... rinse and pull now. also VELLUM BUTTERFLY LAYERS? ermagosh!

    but also THNAK YOU for joining our paper anthology fun AND for reminding us all to be supporting our favorite small businesses, especially now. jeff and i actually went and got take out lunch today in that spirit. (well also we were hungry and bored lol!) it was SO AMAZING to meet you and get to craft together. cannot wait until next time.

    (but yeah... many of the 45 min zoom/skype/facetime work sessions really should just be an email...) :/

    ReplyDelete
  4. Awwn thanks so much for the shout out. Had fun crafting with you and just love how your card came out!

    ReplyDelete
  5. So digging the three different colors you've added to this fabulous card! Thanks for joining in at STAMPlorations Theme & Photo Prompt challenge!

    ReplyDelete
  6. so gorgeous...I lot the intense colors.
    :) Karen

    ReplyDelete
  7. I like your fancy gold butterflies, this is pretty!

    ReplyDelete
  8. Wow! Such beautiful cards! I love how you incorporate so many patterns and textures into your layers. I love your use of vellum as well!... and your embellishments are so pretty. Thanks so much for sharing with us at Inkspirational!
    - Shauna

    ReplyDelete