Swallowtail

Today starts the new catalog!!  It is the Spring Seasonal catalog and since we are still waiting for our first fun snow day, it seems a bit odd to shelve the Winter Seasonal Catalog.   The first stamp from the catalog to see ink was the Swallowtail (page 18 #129216).   It is just beautiful, and so big!!  I decided to try embossing the Butterfly with Black and then going from there.  The first one I made was on Crumb Cake.  I guess I was not quite ready for bright yet.  I went with a distressed background and vintage elements of ribbon and

brads.  The ribbon I used are basic black taffeta, very vanilla seem binding, and the new "Natural Trim" ribbon from the Seasonal catalog, (page 20 #129287).  This ribbon is cotton and flax and has a really nice texture and feel to it.  I really like the dimension it brings to the project.  I distressed the Natural ribbon a bit by fraying the end of the ribbon to expose a middle thread, then pulling on the middle thread to make the ribbon ruffle just slightly.  The Tag was also made from a stamp in the new catalog called "A little Greeting".  A nice price at $7.95 (page 25 #129111) it gives you a thinking of you, and a just for you, as well as "Hi", in perfect sizes for adding little touches to your projects.

 

With my second Swallowtail card I decided to embrace the coming spring and give it a bit more color, although I guess it is still sort of dark :)  baby steps!  I also used black embossing powder on Elegant Eggplant paper.  I them added some bleach to the image with a cheap paintbrush.  Do this lightly and give the paper a few minutes to dry before you decide to add more, the color change is not immediate.  I use a really cheap paint brush so that I don't ruin any good ones, the bleach eats away at the bristles.  

Here is the finished bleaching step.

Embossing and bleaching tend to curl the paper so I like to then layer my bigger embossed pieces on another piece of paper.  I do this with a glue stick, I like the fuller coverage it gets and it really helps the embossed paper lay flat and not buckle. 

I added some glitter and some ribbon and a little tag that reads "Hi"  from the same stamp set I mentioned earlier in this post.  The white organza ribbon goes all the way around the embossed layer, and then I added some Scalloped Elegant Eggplant and black taffeta strips to the middle before tying the knot tightly around it all. 

 

I hope that you enjoyed todays post, thanks for stopping by!