January 30, 2010

Save the butterflies

Do you salvage pretty paper images?  I do.  My sources range from gift bags, tags on clothing, including labels on packages.

Envision those pretty French soaps and dainty tea packages.  Companies spend a great deal of time and money creating packaging and labels for their products; after all, it is often what draws you to the item.

Enter designer scrapbook paper.  Printed paper offering colorful images and detailed graphics.  Scrapbook paper can be used in almost every type of artwork; scrapbooking, card-making or for covering the worn surface of a wood box.

Many times the graphics are so beautiful, we hesitate cutting into them.  That feeling surfaced as I pulled a from my new Sweet Pea designer series paper that showcased colorful butterflies.  What could I use the paper for without having to cut into those lovely winged beauties.

In an effort to spare these beautful butterflies from the blade of a paper cutter, I created one super-sized card.







This card measures 8 1/2" x 5 1/4".  It is a full sheet of banana cardstock folded in half. 

All but two butterflies weren't included in the original paper layer.  They were instead, cut seperately and reattach the to the card in strategic places (the top left and far right of the card).  The wings were curled to give it more of a 3D effect.  The smallest butterfly was lifted with a dimensional.

There are 48 patterns in the Sweet Pea DSP.  I'll be going through the rest of the pack trying to save the remaining butterflies and dainty flowers.  Afterwards, I'll move on to those fun geometric shapes for a different kind of project.

In the meantime, here's a little sneak peek of what's in store for the Februray issue of Paper Crafters Sampler


I hope your day is filled with sunshine and inspiration.

3 comments:

Lynn said...

So pretty! I haven't cut any of my butterfly paper from the Sweet Pea pack yet. I'm trying to think of a special way to use it too because it's sooo beautiful!

Lisa Hensley said...

I love how you curled the edges on that butterfly to make it really pop! The colors on that ds are amazing.

dining room table said...

You did a great job with those butterflies! They are so adorable and the colors are so lively.