First, you will need:
- One sheet of 8 1/2" x 11" white cardstock
- Pigment inkpad
- White embossing powder
- Dye inkpad (your choice of color)
- Stipple brush
- Paper cutter
- craft knife
- cutting mat
- scissors
- ruler
- bone folder
- gluestick (or tape runner)
- MSRS (Michael Strong Rubber Stamps) Cloisonne Butterfly
- MSRS Mosaic Frame
- MSRS Mini Butterfly
1. Using a paper cutter, cut the sheet of cardstock in half to yield two 4 1/4" x 11" pieces.
2. Cut one piece into two parts measuring 6" x 4 1/4" and 5" x 4 1/4".
3. Using a ruler and a bone folder, score and fold a 1/2" flap on the top of the 6" piece. Set these parts aside.
4. Fold the other 11" x 4 1'4" piece in half to 5 1/2" x 4 1/4".
5. Lay the folded card down with the opening at the top. Score and fold down the front of the card at 2 3/4".
6. Open the card and lay it flat to emboss. Stamp and emboss the Mosaic Frame onto the 5 1/2" x 4 1/4" section of the card.
7. Stamp and emboss the Butterfly on the other half which has been divided into two 4 1/4" x 2 3/4" sections.
8. Make sure to stamp the butterfly on the fold with the top of the wings above the fold and the bottom of the wings below the fold. Add a few more butterflies as shown.
9. Using a craft knife and a cutting mat, cut out the top parts of the wings just to the fold.
10. Stamp and emboss as many mini butterflies as you like onto the reserved 5" x 4 1/4" piece. Using a stipple brush and dye inkpad, color the mosaic frame "background" and all the butterflies.
11. Attach the piece with the 1/2" flap to the back of the card to make it stand up as shown.
12. Cut out and attach the mini butterflies all over the card.
13. Cut thin pieces of paper to make the antenna for the cutout butterfly and glue or tape in place.
To find the products mentioned in this article and shown in these layouts, check with your local scrapbook retailer. Browse our Premier Retail Stores for coupons to a store near you.
Michael Strong is a born doodler. He filled the margins of most of his school work with drawings of all description and usually caught the wrath of his teachers for not paying attention in class. A career in art was inevitable. Eventually, his hobby of rubber stamping turned into little rubber stamp company. Working from his home, Michael’s little company has grown and flourished. His work has been published in national magazines and he is the author of two craft books Don’t Throw That Away! and Paper Greenhouse. Michael was lucky enough to make many appearances on The Carol Duvall Show highlighting his love of turning ordinary household ephemera into works of art. He now appears on TV Weekly’s The Scrapbook Lounge, a web based venue for paper crafting and scrapbooking. Most of Michael’s time now is devoted to traveling around the country and on the high seas teaching rubber stamping to his beloved fellow stampers. His little doodles have become his passion which he happily shares with everyone. http://www.strongstamps.com.
