Swallowtail Butterfly

It's no secret that I've quite the obsession with butterflies. Sadly, I haven't seen many varieties in real life, but more than make up for it in papercraft goodies - stamps, punches, dies - & now my biggest butterfly of all - Swallowtail!

Swallowtail is a background sized stamp, so it needs very little embellishment to look amazing. This was the first card I made, for my dear friend Sam. It's very sparkly IRL, as it's sprayed with champagne mist shimmer spray, but quite hard to see in the pic.

Next up, I made this one for my wonderful Mum & Dad in law.

Swallowtail was stamped in midnight muse & then I added some simple shading with my summer starfruit marker. I really love this quote - from John Lennon I believe - included in our Pursuit of Happiness set.
I sent this card with a package of cards for my MIL, Shirley. She hasn't been hooked on stamping (yet!), but she does love to give handmade cards to her friends.

I was concerned they'd be damaged in the mail, so I made this box with the heavy recycled backing of our DSP pack, using my Simply Scored, scoring tool & a fab tutorial by Tanya Bell - thanks Tanya. Doesn't Swallowtail look amazing? You can see how big the stamp is, as the box holds standard cards & envelopes. It's really strong too, due to the thick cardboard backing. I had to sneak in another butterfly on the box closure - from Papillon Potpourri.

PS: Check out Jackie Topa's fab video for a different size box in the same style.
That's all from me for now, but you'll definitely see lots more of Swallowtail, as it's included in our new Annual Catalogue, coming in just 18 days.
Until next time, thanks very much for stopping by. Hope you liked my projects. Leave a comment if you'd like any more info or just to say hi.
Inky wishes, Di

Supplies - All by Stampin' Up! unless specified
Swallowtail 1
Stamps: Swallowtail, Pretty Petites (SAB)
Card/Paper: elegant eggplant, wisteria wonder, whisper white card
Ink: elegant eggplant ink pad, champagne mist shimmer paint
Accessories: white taffeta ribbon, white bakers twine
Tools: Big Shot, square lattice embossing folder
Swallowtail 2
Stamps: Swallowtail, Pursuit of Happiness
Card/Paper: midnight muse,summer starfruit, whisper white card
Ink: midnight muse ink pad, summer starfruit marker
Accessories: summer starfruit stitched satin ribbon
Swallowtail Box
Stamps: Swallowtail, Papillon Potpourri
Card/Paper: midnight muse,whisper white card, DSP cardboard backing
Ink: midnight muse ink pad
Tools: Simply Scored, Big Shot, Apothecary Accents Framelits