Lovely Friend

I kept the colouring to a minimum with these pretty butterflies. Just a couple of shades of each colour for some contrast followed by a coat of shimmery medium. Simple.

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Tutorial - Pinwheel Cards

Pinwheel cards are fun little creations that feature a distinctive pinwheel pattern both when open and when folded closed. Although it's not really needed, a belly band adds an extra cute element and a space for additional embellishments.

TEMPLATE:

1. Start with a thick piece of double-sided, 12" x 12" patterned paper. Around 180gsm is a good weight without being too heavy. I also chose paper that could be used as a lining for the inside of my card, so I ended up with very few offcuts.

Trim the paper to the following sizes:

- 8" x 8"

- 4" x 4"

- 12" x 11/2"

- 12" x 1"

2. Start with the 8" x 8" piece of paper. Measure and mark 3" and 5" from the left hand corner. Rotate the paper 90 degrees and repeat. Rotate and repeat two more times until you have marked all four sides.

3. If you have a score board with a right-angle wedge, place one side of your paper against the wedge and score across the paper from the first 3" line. It should line up with the 5" line on the next edge. (See the template for correct placement). Repeat for all four sides of the paper.

4. Fold along each score line.

5. You will notice small triangles where the score lines intersect. Use a pair of small, sharp scissors to remove each of the four triangles. (See the template for correct placement).

6. Remove the right-angle wedge from your score board. Place the paper on your score board and score at 1" until you reach the point of the small triangle you removed in the previous step. (Refer to template for correct placement). Rotate the paper 90 degrees and repeat. Repeat twice more for a total of four score lines.

7. Fold the first large corner into the centre of the card. Fold the 1" strip back over the large corner and secure with glue or double-sided tape. Repeat for all four corners.

REVERSE SIDE OF CARD:

8. To fold the card, bring one of the corners into the centre. To get the fold correct, you always want to cover the high point, so the second fold will be whichever corner covers the point - in my case, that's the corner on the left (clockwise). Then the top corner. The last corner is tucked under the very first one, which is a little tricky at first. You have to bend and curve the paper and slightly open the other folds to ease the last section into place.

9. To decorate, secure the 4" x 4" piece of patterned paper in the centre. If desired, stamp a sentiment or image before gluing in place.

10. Secure the two 12" strips together - the narrow one on top of the wider piece. Wrap around the card, secure the ends together with glue, and trim off any excess to form the belly band. Add an image or embellishment over the seam, and add other decorations as desired.

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Condolence Card

To give a little more emphasis to the embossed pattern, I added the lightest green and lightest orange markers I had in my collection. The little berries and the wings of the butterfly also received a coat of shimmery medium for a subtle sparkle.

Digital Stamps:

Pretty Butterflies

Judy created these beautiful cards using the new Butterfly House set of digital stamps. Her first card features the Ulysses butterfly, beautifully coloured with a mix of blue and green, then coupled with a piece of marbled paper. To create the second card, she printed three of the Grass Yellow butterflies, coloured them with lovely bright shades and layered them onto a pretty purple background.

Judy's Blog

Butterfly Birthday

One of the easiest ways to give your cards a little extra dimension is to place a little bit of grey marker onto the cardstock behind an image. It gives the illusion of a shadow and "lifts" the image from the page.

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Happy Hello

I've kept things super simple with this card, adding a rainbow of colour to the butterfly's wings followed by a liberal application of a sparkly brush pen. The card base measures a little over 4", so it's only a little greeting, but it packs a colourful and happy punch!

Digital Stamps:

New Digital Stamps

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Butterfly House

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Vintage Toys

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Tutorial - Impossible Card

Keep your friends and family guessing with this fabulous mind-bending, one-piece creation that contains a clever "twist". Despite it's name, it's actually very achievable, and in a relatively short time too!

1. Start with a piece of card stock measuring 6" square. Once you understand the general properties of this card it's simple to alter the size to suit the design you want.

2. Place the card stock on your score board and score at 3". Fold along the score line.

3. Place the card stock in front of you with the score line running horizontally. Make a cut from the centre of the scoreline to the bottom of the card stock, 3" from each side. Refer to the photo below for placement.

4. Spin the card stock around so that the cut you made is at the top. Starting from the bottom left-hand corner, measure and mark 11/2" along the bottom of the card stock. Measure and mark another 11/2" along the score line, starting at the left-hand edge. Use a craft knife or trimmer to cut between the two marks, starting at the score line and finishing at the bottom of the card stock. Repeat with the same measurements on the right-hand side. Refer to the photo below for correct placement.

5. Spin the card stock around again so that the single cut is facing you.

6. Hold the left-hand side in your hand and bend it down toward you, allowing the card stock to pivot at the score line. Keep going until the left hand panel (top and bottom) is completely flipped over. Leave the centre panel and right hand panels in the same place.

7. To decorate, cut some patterned paper and card stock slightly smaller than the panels. I used the card base as a template then trimmed off 1/8" all round. These "L" shaped pieces help to stabilise the card along the score line.

You'll also need a centre panel measuring 23/4" square. This is the focal point of the card, so decorate as desired.

The last piece you will need is a strip measuring 1" wide x 5" long. I added a sentiment and some embellishments for decoration.

8. Secure the square panel in place with some glue or double sided tape.

9. Add the "L" shaped panels on either side, covering the score lines, and secure with glue or double sided tape. This is the area where you can add your hand-written greeting or additional stamped sentiments.

10. The final step is to stabilise the entire card with the 1" strip. Ensure the sides of the card are square before securing the strip with glue or tape, taking care not to add adhesive on the section that spans the gap.

The centre panel will easily fold back so you can slip your card into an envelope for postage!

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