Butterfly Beauty

Hello everyone!

I can't quite believe that it's Monday again already but at least that means that I get to share my latest project for the Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge Blog and this week, our theme is all about...BUTTERFLY BEAUTY!

So the hardest part of this challenge will be which butterfly to choose from the many, many that are available ~ it's not going to be an easy choice but whatever you decide, we can't wait to see what you create!

For my project, I chose to use the beautiful detailed butterfly from the Tim Holtz Perspective stamp set and created a wall panel packed with texture and dimension, showcasing the gorgeous butterfly in flight!

...and hope you enjoy the creative process behind this project!

To begin with I cut a piece of canvas paper that can be used with acrylic paints and cut the paper to size before applying a layer of Weathered Wood Distress Paint over the surface and drying thoroughly with a heat tool.

To create my layers of colour, I used Distress Crayons and applied Evergreen Bough, Peacock Feathers, Picked Raspberry, Black Soot and Seedless Preserves over the top of the Distress Paint, blending them together with my finger. Once I was happy I then took a baby wipe to remove a small amount of the crayons in areas, knocking it back to the Weathered Wood base colour ~ this creates that gorgeous distressed look on the canvas. To add even more interest, I then took some gesso and applied some paint scratches with the edge of a ruler and also used the lid of the bottle of Distress Paint to create some circles.

Once I was happy with the background, I used the Hickory Smoke Crayon around the edges and blended this into the background.

Now for some texture and for this, I used Texture Paste through the Splatters Layering Stencil and also the Speckles Layering Stencil. You can just see the paste underneath the butterfly in the picture below!

I also applied some paste through the Industrial stencil, adding the "Found" wording onto the left hand side of the canvas.

Once the paste was dry, I smeared a little crayon over the top of the wording, but I kept the splatters white.

For the finishing touch on the background, I added some Vintage Gold Foil around the edge and also over the top of the wording ~ it just adds that touch of glimmer to the project and I added some paint splatters using Picked Raspberry Distress Paint and some watered down Gesso.

Now that I had my background, I added a torn strip of corrugated card across the bottom section and used some dyed crinkle ribbon to attach a quote band that I altered with Picket Fence Distress Paint.

I matted my background onto kraft card and black card to create a framed border for this piece and then set it aside to create that beautiful butterfly.

For this, I stamped the butterfly onto watercolour card using Jet Black Archival Ink and coloured it with Distress Marker Pens! If you follow me on Instagram, you'll have seen this in progress! Once the butterfly was coloured, I cut it out and then attached it to my canvas, layering it onto some twigs cut from my garden.

I love how the twigs lift the butterfly from the canvas, creating the look of this beauty in flight!

To complete the canvas, I added a scruffy bow which a Dapper Fastener in the centre and a star embellishment.

...and that is my canvas complete and I hope you've enjoyed how I created this piece and love it as much as I loved making it!

As always, if you need any further inspiration for this challenge, then you need look no further than our blog to see all the wonderful creations from all the very talented Design Team members and every week, one lucky random participant has the chance to win a $50 gift voucher from Simon Says Stamp. You have until Monday 8am Ohio time. 1pm UK time, 2 pm CET to join in and good luck....

Thank you so much for all your visits today and hope you all have a great week ahead

See you again soon...love Emma xx

Products used:

Tim Holtz Stamps: Perspective

Distress Paint: Weathered Wood, Picket Fence, Picked Raspberry

Distress Marker Pens

Distress Crayons: Set 1, 2 and 3

Layering Stencils: Speckles, Splatters, Industrial

Distress Spray Stain: Scattered Straw

Ranger Ink products: Gesso, Texture Paste

Idea-ology: Crinkle Ribbon, Quote Band, Dapper Fastener

Prima/Finnabair Mechanical Stars

Ranger Vintage Foil Transfer Sheets

Surfaces: Watercolour Cardstock, Black Card, Kraft Card, Textured Surfaces

Ranger Craft Sheet

Blending Tool

Heat Gun

Palette Knife

Canvas paper and twigs from my own stash