I'm like many Stampin' Up demonstrators when it comes to Swallowtail, the Giant Behemoth Butterfly! I love butterflies - don't get me wrong! But old Swallowtail is just SOO big! It doesn't even fit on a standard sized card! I couldn't imagine how to use it.
But a couple of months have passed, and I have had a chance to play around with it a bit, and see how others have used it, and now I kinda like the big fella!
For my next Technique Night Classes, the theme is Crystal Effects and one of the projects we will be tackling uses the Faux Canvas technique with Crystal Effects. I learned how to do this technique from
Lyssa Zwolanek's blog, and it is fairly simple and works REALLY well!
Here's my version of it:
For once, the photograph does the technique justice and you can see the canvas-like texture created by the Crystal Effects. I love the Basic Gray image with the Pool Party and Island Indigo card stock. I hemmed and hawed about what embellishments to add: brads, buttons, punched butterflies, but in the end I decided that less is more and I let Mr. Swallowtail be the "
stah of the show!"
The canvas effect is created by adding Crystal Effect and brushing with a toothbrush first vertically, then horizontally. Make sure your ink is completely dry before adding the Crystal Effects. My Island Indigo was not completely dry and bled a tiny bit, but the Basic Gray had been stamped before and was totally dry and there was not a problem with it. Give it a try!
Another amazing recent announcement from Stampin' Up is that the awesome Starter Kit Deal that you got if you joined Stampin' Up during Sale-A-Bration, has been continued until March 31! That means, if you sign up to get the Starter Kit, which is already a good deal - $155 worth of any Stampin' Up products you choose for only $125 with free shipping - you get $194 worth for only $125! Even if you just want to get started stamping, this is your best deal! And you would have at least 3 months of a 20% discount even if you didn't make your minimums (but I can help you with that, too!) You can't lose with a deal this good!
I would love to have you join my team! Give me a call if you are interested or even if you have questions.
Stamps: Swallowtail (w129213; c129216); Perfectly Penned (w122890; c122892)
Paper: Pool Party (122924), Island Indigo (122923) and Whisper White (100730) card stock
Accessories: Crystal Effects (101055); Sycamore Street Button and Ribbon Pack (from Sale-A-Bration; no longer available)
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