Hello Crafty friends! I’m sitting by the open window here in Tokyo, enjoying the last of the cool breezes before the rainy season and then the heat set in. It’s strange for this southern Australian to get used to summer having rain, and winter being dry. I have a set of 10 cards using one paper pack for you today! I really enjoy this type of cardmaking, especially as the cards make great gift sets, and I’ve got a video of the process, and another video already in the works, I had so much fun.

The paper pack that I chose to use for these cards is called Butterfly Bliss. It has a lovely mix of blues and pinks, so I chose some rich blue and burgundy cards for the background papers. I followed the sketches on Sandy Allnock’s Operation Write Home sketches. In keeping with my recent decision not to spend any time on choosing sketches, I just started at sketch one and worked my way through the first 10 sketches.

The video is probably the best way to see the process, but I’ve also put in photos of all 10 cards, as well as a list of the principles that I use when making this type of cards. Perhaps you’ll see something you haven’t thought of before, but even it you know it all already, I hope that you enjoy the cards and the beautiful papers.

As well as the papers, I used a butterfly die for three of the cards. The style and size of the die fitted so perfectly with the papers. I also stamped and coloured the Georgia Butterfly stamp for sketch number 9. I used the papers to help me choose Copic markers to match, then used this as the focal point.

When making cards with paper /packs, here are a few things that Iike to keep in mind.

• choose some background plain, or almost plain papers and use them to add tiny border around each of the card elements. It stops the different patterned from looking too busy right next to each other. My border is usually 1/16″ (1.5mm) on each side. If these papers are either much darker, or much lighter than the patterned papers, they will work best
• using foam tape on some of the card elements really makes the card pop.
• when adding coloured images, use the colours in the papers to choose your marker, pencil etc colours
• keep all the elements level. Even the height of one sheet of paper can make the piece on top look wonky. Add pieces of scrap paper behind any parts of the elements that will droop.
• Measurements on sketches are great, but don’t get too attached to them. For example, if a sketch calls for a 1″ strip, but my butterflies are 1 1/2 ” tall, I’ll change the sketch to match my patterned paper.

I hope you’ve enjoyed this set of cards, and I look forward to sharing with you again soon. If you’d like to see all my cards (not all of them make the blog) feel free to visit me on Instagram, where I’m donnadoll74

Until next time, may you have butterflies in your life!

Blessings,

Donna

These are the supplies I used. You can click on the link to shop. Where available, I have used affiliate links, which means that I will receive a small commission at no cost to you. I’ve tried to link to companies in different countries, so you can save on postage costs. Thank you so much for your support.

My Sweet Petunia MISTI Shop at: SBC | SSS	Pink and Main Layered Circle Dies Shop at: P&M | SBC	Paper Rose Butterfly Bliss Paper Pack Shop at: PRS | SBC	Paper Rose Dainty Butterfly small stamp Shop at: PRS | SBC	Copic Markers 36 set Shop at: O | SSS
Paper Rose Hello Chunky die three layer Shop at: PRS	Paper Rose Chunky Hello die two layer Shop at: PRS | SBC | SSS	Paper Rose Georgia Floral Butterfly stamp Shop at: PRS | SSS	Paper Rose Flurry of Butterflies die Shop at: PRS | SBC
Tim Holtz Tonic Guillotine Shop at: SSS	Paper Rose liquid glue Shop at: PRS	Paper Rose Modern Poppies stamp Shop at: PRS | SSS