Happy Spring - Imaginarium Designs

I have a spring-themed project to share with you today. I made this for Imaginarium Designs, and then realized that since they are in Australia, they are not celebrating spring, but rather it's autumn there! Oh well. Jane was a good sport and shared the project anyway!

I used all Graphic 45 Little Darlings papers, because the colors are so pretty and not all of the patterns are inherently "baby." It worked great for this project.

On the Imaginarium Designs blog they call this project a card, but it's really a chipboard piece. I supposed it could become a card, but I made it from a 6x6 scrap of chipboard as a wall hanging. In fact, it is hanging in my studio right now! The point is that small canvases can have a huge impact! That is why I love to make cards and tags and other small items. There is just enough space to "crap up"!

I painted the large butterfly with white acrylic paint and allowed it to dry completely. Then, I inked it with Watermark ink, and dusted it with various mica powders to give it a soft, pastel shimmer. I used Wisteria chalk ink to lightly ink all around the edges of the butterfly.

To create the title, I inked each letter with Frost White pigment ink and sprinkled the letters with violet embossing powder. I rubbed some of the powder off before heating to allow some of the white ink to peek through for a distressed look.

To make all of the fantastic flowers I used die cut shapes. I inked all the edges with chalk ink to match the theme of the art piece. I love creating flowers from printed paper. They are so easy to make! If you have die cut templates or punches, it's fast and fun. I plan to have a flower tutorial for you this month. Stay tuned.

I will often cut flowers from "unlikely" papers, just to see what they look like. Sometimes, they are pretty cool - this green dotted one, for example! I think some of these flowers almost look quilted! I also made some little buds from the printed paper. Again, so easy! I just cut out a small flower and folded it round some wire to make a bud.

These amazing crystal "leaves" are from Pro 31 Designs and are called Wheat Sprays. Love them!

Thanks for stopping by!

Imiganiarium Designs: Extra Large Butterfly, Lowercase Letters
Paper: Graphic 45 Little Darlings: Heaven Sent, Cherished, Little Treasures
Die Cutting System: Spellbinders Grand Calibur; Die templates Grand Peony Creations, Rose Creations, Bitty Blossoms
Wire: Artistic Wire
Crystals: Prima leaves; Pro 31 Designs wheat sprays
Ink: Clearsnap Colorbox: Pigment Frost White; Fluid Chalk Wisteria, Lime Pastel, Orchid Pastel; Watermark ink
Embossing Powder: Stampendous Violet
Mica Powder: Pearl Ex Pearl White, Duo Green Yellow, Interference Violet; Cosmic Shimmer Silver, Pale Gold
Paint: Deco Art Acrylic White