Butterfly Pendant Tutorial, a Winner and more candy!)

This candy is now closed, thank you for playing! Please see this post for the winner, but do enjoy this tutorial!

Happy Sunday! Thank you everyone who entered for my "A Year of Flowers" blog candy, I so appreciate your lovely comments and support as well as all of you who are helping me spread about my new book! The winner is:

Louise Fox said...

Mel, I purchased the book but haven't received it yet! My favorite flower is the marigold/carnation - I think it can be either, depending on how one colors it (you are always so versatile)! Would love to win the stamp set as I will soon have the book! Blessings.
January 6, 2012 2:03 PM

Congrats, Louise! Please email me your snail addy and I will send you your copy of the "A Year of Flowers" stamp set!

Now! I have a quick tutorial for you I am really excite about, which uses my recent set "Make a State-ment".


I hadn't really had much of a chance to play with the "Make a State-ment" set at release time last month as I would have liked, certainly not this monarch butterfly*! You've probably noticed I intended it to be used not only with the "Stately Flowers" sets, but with all the floral sets I've done in the past. That one large butterfly really adds so much life to the card! Once I started stamping it the other day, though, I noticed certain things about the shape and details that were unlike other butterfly images in my collection and had me seeing some new and pretty exciting ways to use it! Here is the first.

Stamp the butterfly, four times at right angles so they are at 90 degree angles, to form a square. It's easiest to stamp one at the bottom, going straight and parallel with the edge of your paper, and then turn your paper to stamp the remaining ones. Trying to do them at a 45 degree angle will be much harder to get the right angle! Use a stamp positioner if you want the wings to meet up exactly, I didn't and while it's not perfect, just using the lines on the gridline block, I got pretty close (close enough!)

Now trim with the scissors. Doesn't that make a gorgeous label/frame/pendant?? Perfect for this 4 1/4" square card!

From here you can add an image, sentiment, or cut the middle out with another die to make a window for a photo stamp or greeting behind it. Here is my finished card. I want to make one in every color now! I went ahead and took pictures both ways with the sentiment layer straight or on the 45. Which do you prefer?

I added white dots with an Inkssentials pen on the Black Onyx base to go with the dots on the wings and scored corner to corner on both Pure Luxury Red Hot layers to add interest. I used three Copics for the butterfly: FY1, Y17, and R35, layering ink from light to dark, then going back in with my lighter shade to blend the colors. The greeting is from my new "Stately Flowers 2". "Make a State-ment" coordinates with all the sets in the "Stately Flowers" series.

I LOVE THIS! Can't wait to show you the next way to use it, I think it's sure to wow! :) How about another giveaway? Leave a comment below to win a signed copy of "Make a State-ment". (This set goes GREAT with "A Year of Flowers" by the way!) ;) Get an extra chance to win the set by linking this tutorial on your blog or Facebook! You can let me know you did by coming back and leaving a second comment. I'll announce a winner Tuesday!

*Did you know: 8 states have the monarch as their official state butterfly or insect? That's one of the reasons I put it in the "Make a Statement"set, he's everywhere... ;)