Butterfly of Hope

Hope is such a powerful thing. It’s something that is needed everywhere these days. So, when I thought what can I do that’s red and blue for the fourth of july? I thought that Hope needed to be the center of that message. In today’s card I used techniques I learned through the Altenew AECP course, Polychromatic. I was really drawn to the lesson that talked about using water-based markers to paint with. Fun fact, I have a set of Stampin’ Up markers from probably at least 20 years ago when my Mom originally bought them. Somewhere along the years I obtained them, and my son uses them when I use my Copics. Finding this video was inspiring to go ahead and try this out!

I made this card with the 4th of July in mind and the Color Hues the Color Challenge while trying this new technique out. One of the beautiful things is that there are so many shades of blue and red. I felt like this fit in well with the polychromatic card. I started off with using a Hero Arts White Pearl Satin Embossing powder for the butterflies. This allowed a little bit of a buffer zone when painting. I colored small amounts on the butterfly with the markers and dragged out the color with water. I added some metallic paint in a small section of the butterfly to add some pzazz. 

I then die cut a circle out, inked up my Altenew Garden Rose Embossing Folder with Altenew Dew Drops, and sprayed a shimmer spray on the paper before running it through the machine. 

Embossing is something I love but, struggle with! I tend to always make a mess. I’ve found one of the easiest methods to contain the mess is to use the packing slips that Altenew (and other companies) send with their packages. Just simply take off the sticker part and keep the wax paper. This allows for the powder to slide back into the container easily! For doing circular pieces like this, I like using my mini Versa Mark ink pad! Gives great control. I applied embossing powder and set it in with heat twice. 

Now that I had all the pieces done, I wanted to figure out a way to take this card to the next step. Current Color Hue the Color Challenge suggested the use of stars or stripes. So, stars it was! This time I used a full size versa mark ink pad and wiped it along the paper and heat set it twice. Then, I die cut out stars and glued them on randomly. 

I’m pleased with how this card turned out and am thankful my new photo boards came in so that I could share this card with you! Thanks for your time. Until next time. 

Challenges:
Color Hues Challenge
Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge