I really had to play around with this in my mind before I knew what I wanted to create for the MDS Monday Blog shaped card challenge - then it was figuring out how. I've been working on this for a few days and having THE BEST TIME - especially after I printed my tests and saw that my ideas were working! I'm going to get right to my finished card (two variations, in fact) and then lots more photos of how to make it. At the end of this post I'll give you some alternate ways to approach the card and construction.
BLUE MORPHO BUTTERFLY CARD
("au naturel")
I thought the butterfly looked a lot like a Blue Morpho, so I looked at lots of photos before coloring. This is how it looks finished, printed on my HP printer. All the blue coloring was achieved with lots of oval punches filled with DSP and layered over each other (overlapped). The Poppy Parade color on the edges and More Mustard on the body are both part of a paintbrush layer, which I also used to fill in different shades of blue in little gaps. The butterfly stamp image is mostly the default black, but I thought my first test print was too dark so I added a white, 100% opacity (x-0, y-0 orientation) shadow and then recolored the lines on the wings with blues.

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MDS elements Wonderful Wings (Butterfly2) stampbrush, Summertime Splendor DSP (Orchids pattern), oval punches, freeform paint and recoloring tools. |
HYBRID VARIATION
This one shows how I added to the body and wing edges with a Basic Black marker (fine tip) and added sparkle to the wings with Dazzling Effects (you could also use Dazzling Diamonds Glitter). Also note that in this sample I didn't completely cut out the antennae. This gives them more stability.
BUTTERFLY CARD - OPEN
HOW I CREATED & COLORED MY BUTTERFLY CARD
Start by applying the butterfly image to an 8.5x11 landscape page. Enlarge it to desired size and crop it in half. Copy it and switch the crop to the opposite side. Be prepared to keep tweaking your sizing as you go. Line the halves up to make a whole butterfly in one corner; check and note the position coordinates for the "y" or top margin; move the right hand half to the opposite corner and make sure the "y" is still what it was before you moved it.
Apply an oval punch, fill with the Summertime Splendor orchid DSP, then "play" with your oval until you have the coloring and size you want by resizing, double-clicking the oval and zooming in or out on the DSP and moving it to the portion of the DSP you want to use. I used parts of the petals for all my ovals. Position the oval over the part of the stamp you want to color and love the layer behind the stamp. THIS IS THE BASIC PROCESS FOR USING DSP TO COLOR THE IMAGE. Create multiple ovals this way, copy them and reuse them, tweak them as you go, and copy and mirror them for parts of the opposite wing. When you have all the ovals you need layered to best effect for one wing, use the grouping tool to link them so you can move that layer as a unit. Take your time and enjoy the process! VARIATION: Go hybrid and simply print the uncolored image and color it with markers or ink!
After you finish your DSP ovals layer, add touches of other colors by creating a paint layer. Color this layer on top of the stamp, then move it to the back when done. I also used the coloring tool on the stamp to color some of the lines blue. VARIATION: Skip the DSP-filled oval shapes and use the paint tool to create a full-color layer.
Apply sentiment stampbrush, drop shadow, color if desired, and print the page. |
BE SURE TO CUT THE LEFT SIDE BOTTOM OF THE BODY WITH THE CARD FOLDED. YOU CAN DECIDE LATER IF YOU WANT TO TRIM OFF THE UNCOLORED PART OF THE BODY. (See how the body looks cut out in the image below) |
Cut out the butterfly. If you want the antennae to have more stability, don't cut all the way around them. |
After the left side is cut out and "free" you can more easily fold it to meet the other side and create the center fold. |
When if is folded, the butterfly will look whole! |
Cut out the right side. If the center panel top/bottom was not precut, trim the top. |
Fold to close and finish fussy-cutting the body. |
Finish trimming bottom edge of center section. If desired, trim antennae. |
ALTERNATE WAY OF FOLDING THE CARD
Here is the original challenge sample template - note that although an apple shape was used, the idea behind the challenge was to use ANY shape of choice from an MDS stampbrush or punch.
WoW!! When I first saw it I wondered how you could have colored it with the free form tool and get all that wonderful shading! How brilliant to use DSP in the oval punches. That is a truly lovely card and I like the way it opens. I Love it!!
ReplyDeleteThank you Beth! My first thought was that I would have to use free form paint to color it in digitally, then I thought "Hmm, maybe I can layer it over a butterfly punch filled with DSP" - when that didn't quite work out, I went "old school coloring" using the punches the way we used to do as a work-around before we had any coloring tools. And it is a lot easier using punches filled with DSP now than before also, with the other improvements to tools we have.
ReplyDeleteWow! Your butterfly is beautiful and so cleverly made. I would never have thought about colouring it with punches and DSP. Thank you also for visiting my blog and your nice comment.
ReplyDeleteWow, that is so awesome! Your cards are gorgeous, and thank you so much for going through your design process with us. Thanks for joining MDS Monday this week.
ReplyDeleteOh my gosh, this is an AMAZING card!!! I would never have thought of coloring like that -- awesome idea!!! Gorgeous, gorgeous card!!!!
ReplyDeleteCongrats on your card, Suzanne! It is absolutely stunning! Such a creative idea and you have worked out the mechanics of it perfectly. Thanks for the detailed tutorial as well.
ReplyDeleteSue Erickson
www.soggystamper.com
Thank you for all the lovely comments Sue, Heidi, Tami and Sue E.!! I so appreciate you taking the time to post them, as I do the sentiments! Inky hugs & kisses to everyone who has posted!
ReplyDeleteI am lucky to have been with Suzanne to watch the process and see the final beautiful creative card! Can't wait for the next inspiration she gets.
ReplyDelete