This week, our theme is all about die cuts.
I've had this Karen Burniston Accordion die cut for some time and FINALLY got around to using it! Honestly, I think a bit of me was afraid to try it. I think subconsciously I kept shying away from it because it looked so complicated! Do you guys ever do that? Just assume that something is going to be hard so, as much as you want to try it, you just keep putting it off? Please say yes so I won't feel so stupid because honestly, this card was not difficult at all to construct. There are easy to understand photo instructions included with the die cut.
As I've told you before, I am in serious love with the Memory Box Vivienne Butterfly die cut. I wanted to use it on this die cut themed project because I wanted to experiment with making the wings look sort of like stained glass. So, I combined the accordion card die cut with the Vivienne butterfly and several other cool die cuts to create this sweet card.
Bo Bunny's Gabrielle paper is an older paper but I still love it. It's all about butterflies and beautiful shabby vintage images. So, I picked four sheets out of my 6x6 paper pad and die cut four separate panels that would make up my accordion card. I inked all of the edges with Gathered Twigs Distress Ink. It doesn't look vintage if you see white paper cut edges!
As you will see on the instructions included with the die cut, you need to put double sided tape along the tab edges of one side of the panel itself and on the two small tabs on one side of the center cut out. I used 1/4" Scor Tape to do that. But, before I joined the panels together, I decided to complete each panel and THEN tape them together.
Here is the first panel. The beautiful gothic window is also a combination of Memory Box die cuts; the Small Gothic Window and the Small Gothic Arch. I cut them on white cardstock and colored the window frame and Gothic Arch with Scattered Straw Distress Ink and a Small Water Brush. To give the arch inset a metallic look, I covered it with Treasure Gold's White Fire Guilding Wax. Then I added a light touch of Platinum Stickles around the perimeter of the window. When dry, I glued the arch inset onto the frame. The background behind the inset arch is cream cardstock that was sprayed with Biscotti Perfect Pearls and then given distressed edges with Gathered Twigs. I pop dotted the window frame on top of the Perfect Pearls background to give it added dimension.
Notice that sweet little curly vine to the left of the cut out window and also behind the butterfly on the window? There is also one of these on the right side of the card, only reversed. This sweet die cut is from Simon Says Stamp. It is called Harrington Vine. I love it! I cut it out of white cardstock and colored it with Bundled Sage and a Detailer Water Brush on the stem and the two flowers were inked with Evergreen Distress Ink. Once dry, I coated the entire vine with Glossy Accents to give it a more dimensional look. Once that was dry, I added just a hint of Platinum Stickles on the two flowers.
The butterflies were all basically done with the same technique but using different Treasure Gold Guilding Wax finishes to color the actual butterfly die cut. To create the stained glass effect, I sprayed a piece of white tissue paper with Glimmer Mist Spray. Then gently pick up the tissue paper and gently heat set it with a heat tool. Keep adding spray color until you get the depth of color you want. On this particular butterfly, I used Glimmer Mist's Sea Glass color. I love it's brilliant iridescence.
Next, die cut two butterflies out of cardstock and spray the top of one and the bottom of the other with Vintage Photo Distress Stain that has been converted into a 2 oz. Mister Bottle. I like Vintage Photo because it's such a good brown base. Then heat set. When dry, pick a color of Treasure Gold Guilding Wax and go over the top of the butterfly die cut. Add Glossy Accents to the under side of the top butterfly and lay it flat onto the color sprayed tissue paper. Cut out around the butterfly. Then add Glossy Accents to the top side (the unsprayed side) of the bottom butterfly and lay it directly underneath the top butterfly; sandwiching the colored tissue paper between the die cut butterflies.
The first butterfly is finished off with a Tim Holtz Game Spinner covered with Renaissance Treasure Gold and then lightly colored with Platinum Stickles. Across the center is a Chit Chat word that has been mounted on kraft cardstock and lightly colored around the edges with Platinum Stickles.
The second panel and all of the other panels are little different than the first one. The butterfly is also die cut into the center panel, giving a very cool dimensional effect and adding even more of a stained glass look to the butterfly wings when the light is allowed to pass through.
Two more die cuts were added to this panel. Tim Holtz' Mini Filmstrip was cut out of Kraft Cardstock and distressed with Black Soot Distress Ink. The butterflies in the center are from Tim Holtz' Attic Treasures stamp set and are stamped with Black Archival Ink onto cream cardstock distressed with Vintage Photo Distress Ink. They are then topped with Glossy Accents to give them a more "celluloid" effect. Above the filmstrip, is a sweet little String of Hearts from Simon Says Stamp. They are cut out of cream cardstock distressed with Vintage Photo. I added "WINGS" and then coated the hearts with Glossy Accents.
The second butterfly's wings are sprayed onto white tissue paper with Mint Chocolate Chip Glimmer Mist. This butterfly's body is coated with Treasure Gold Copper Guilding Wax. The Trinket Pin body was covered with some distress ribbon and tied at the bottom.
The third panel features a butterfly covered with Treasure Gold Florentine Guilding Wax. It is a silverish gold finish. The wings are Sea Glass Glimmer Mist only this time they look less blue because of the amount of light filtering through the tissue paper. The Tim Holtz Pen Nib body is also covered with the guilding wax and it is hot glued in place. Yet another Simon Says Stamp die cut has been added; the Ribbon Banner-or at least three pennants of it. I added "FLY" using Graphic 45's Antique Typewriter stamps. Love them! I used Coffee Archival ink on them as well as the random stamping of the little letters on the background from Wendy Vecchi's Believe In Art stamp set. I added Platinum stickles around the perimeter of the center cut out and around the cut out edges of the butterfly.
The snaps on either side of the "FLY" ribbon banner were originally bright silver. I changed them into grungy metal simply by dropping a few drops of Espresso Adirondak Alcohol Ink onto them.
Here is another look at the third butterfly. His wings are bluer and more stained glass looking in this picture.
The fourth and last panel is flanked by the other Simon Says Stamp Harrington Vine. "B is for Butterfly" is a combination of several things. the "b" is die cut from Tim Holtz' Word Play die cut. The letter is die cut onto a piece of cardstock that was swiped with Vintage Photo Distress Stain and then covered with Rock Candy Distress Crackle Paint. It is popped onto a text rectangle with distressed edges then popped onto the center cut out. "Is for" is stamped onto distressed cream cardstock using Graphic 45's Vintage Typewriter letter stamps. The edges are distressed and then popped in place. "Butterfly" is from Tim Holtz' Easter Blueprint stamp set onto distressed cream cardstock. It is cut out and popped underneath the butterfly.
The fourth butterfly's body is coated with Treasure Gold White Fire. I love this silvery gold finish. The wings are Vanilla Breeze Glimmer Mist. I also coated the metallic bottom of Tim Holtz' Light Bulb with the White Fire and then hot glued it onto the center of the wings.
So, here is my finished die cut card again. I hope that you enjoyed it.
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Come join us! Here are all of the products available at Simon Says Stamp that were used in creating this vintage butterfly accordion card:
