Exchange cards featuring hammered botanical paper, a die cut butterfly and ribbon and bling

I created these two cards for my Card Exchange partners for this month.  I started with half sheets of hammered botanical paper which I created a while back with my Big Shot.  It is a very cool process where you place fresh botanicals - flowers, leaves, etc - between two sheets of white cardstock and pass it through your die cut machine which acts as a press and creates these cool images.  I added blue watercolour to the edges of these prints which really changed them up for me and made them look more like art.   I chose two large envelopes and made cards for them.
For my first card I created a light green card and added a decorative butterfly die cut in purple.  I adhered it using 3D foam tape and added clear glitter on the body and a few of the pieces in the wings.  I found a piece or torn green decorative paper in my stash and it coordinated perfectly so I placed it just below my butterfly which helped ground the background paper.  I added five tiny rhinestones to one of the dips to create a focal point and added the flight trail with a coordinating pen.  I glued this large element to my card front and then added purple dots to each side which nicely repeats the dots in the flight path.  I decided it did not need a greeting so I added an insert and I was done!!!
My second card was created in a very similar process.  I created a blue card for this one and added the same blue watercolour to the edges of my hammered botanical paper.  I so love the look!!  I found a torn strip of paper in my stash that coordinated so I added to the bottom of my decorative paper.  I added the butterfly using 3D foam tape and added some details using a clear glitter gel pen.  I added the same flight path using a coordinating marker and was pretty happy with it.  But it still needed "a bit of something" so I auditioned a few things and settled on this green gros grain ribbon which coordinated very nicely.  I added it to my decorative paper adhering the ends to the back using double sided tape.  I tied the remaining short end to the front using a single knot to simulate a bow.  That was better!!!!!!!!!!!  Again, I chose not to put a greeting on this card.  It holds its own without it.  Therese

Some more pounded flower backgrounds

I did a few more backgrounds the other day after picking my first radishes from my garden. I wanted something that would coordinate with the radish leaves and be different than the geraniums I made last time so I picked some dandelions.  They worked out really well.  It took a bit to figure out the results are better if you break up the flowers into threes before laying them down and it is really hard to get a full on circle flower because they are so thick all you get is a large circle of colour without too much detail.  The radish leaves were very juicy so it was worth having a paper towel handy!!   I did you my Big Shot again to "pound" the flowers which creates more of a problem with run off - I expect that if you used a hammer the juice would be absorbed more locally and the images might be better as well.  I will have to explore that.  It may also be possible to remove the one shim from the sandwich and accomplish the same thing.  Will let you know!!  I hope you will consider giving this technique a try - it is super easy!!  Follow the above link to find recommendations for flowers and greenery which you can use even if you don't have a garden!!  You can even find some options at the grocery store!!
Therese

Hammered botanicals (flowers & leaves) with a Big Shot

 I received one of my exchange cards this week and it featured a beautiful botanical print on the front!!! She mentioned inside that she had created the print by pressing the leaves through her Big Shot.  I went looking on line for some instructions and found this video tutorial  and these step by step instructions.  This morning I thought I would give a go!!  I collected leaves and flowers from the yard and moved my Big Shot to a separate table so I would have lots of room.   What fun!!!!!!!  Just a note to say that the squishing gets a bit messy with the Big Shot so I would recommend adding a layer of paper towel to the sandwich to catch the spills especially at the final end where all the liquids end up.

 So you can see that the papers I created look awesome!!  Looking forward to crafting with them once they are dry.
So you use your Big Shot with all the platforms and two plates.  I put both of the plates on top with my botanical sandwich in between.  You can see here some of the botanicals I used.  You end up with two prints because you put a piece of white cardstock on the bottom, add your flowers and/or leaves and then lay another over top to create your botanicals sandwich.  It works best with fleshy flowers and leaves but they are also the ones that create the most liquid so be prepared with paper towel.

The first one you see there is one large chives head which has been dismantled and distributed over the half sheet of white cardstock.  I split the stem and cut it into pieces and laid them randomly among the florets.  This works very well!!  They are both juicy enough to give a good print.
Next, I used geranium flowers.  These were dead headed off the plant two days ago and were sitting on  a tray drying so I can use the petals in handmade paper.  I used willow leaves with them.  The willow leaves are not fleshy enough but the geraniums are very juicy so together they gave a decent print though there was not very much green in it.

 For the third one, I used geranium buds, mint leaves and a few leaves off my potato plant.  This worked very well though the mint leaves were not a juicy as I originally thought they would be the potato ones were perfect!!!  There a few potentilla leaves as well and they are not really juicy enough either.

For the fourth one, I used geranium leaves and radish leaves.  This combination worked very well and made a very good print.  

Forgot to take a photo of my last print which I made use coleus leaves.  That was perfect too!!

This is so totally fun!!  You don't need a Big Shot - a plain old hammer will do the job perfectly and give you a bit of exercise to boot!!  A little less mess with the hammer because the juices are not being pushed around.  So think slightly fleshy leaves and flowers for this technique.
If you don't have a garden or flower beds or pots consider that you can probably get some at the grocery store - radishes or carrots with the leaves on, any of the herbs, kale, spinach or lettuce might work, thin slices of onion, beets or carrots might work.
On the other hand, any empty lot in town might have a good selection of options - dandelions with leaves, thistles and maybe even grasses might give good results.  Considering checking out the local flower beds for any plants that need dead heading - marigolds, impatiens, petunias, pansies, etc.  Or ask your friends if they can spare a few from their planters or gardens.  One bonus
I ended up washing up my plates and platforms to ensure that the juices I produced with them this morning have all been removed and will not affect my paper die cutting later.
If you give this a try please leave me a message and link to where you have posted the fun papers you have created!!!

Therese

My Art - exchange card

Have been playing with my new embossing folders for the Cuttlebug! Love the Swiss Dot one which I used on the top of this card! It is my new favorite one after the D'vine Swirl. I do really like the bird one I used on the bottom of this card as well. I added a bit of colour with my pigment stamp pads but I expect you could use chalk, pastels and even watercolour instead. I cut the bookplate with my Sizzix die using my Cuttlebug and layered my greeting under it. Added a strip to cover the joint between the embossed layers, a ribbon and a flower accent. Really love the softness of this card!!
Stampin Up has a Big Shot in their new catalog!! I think I can use all of them in my Cuttlebug but would need to buy the long cutting plates to use the big dies for the little basket and the star!! I was over at my SU demo's open house and she was doing demonstrations!! It is a very cool machine and if I did not already have one I would be buying the Big Shot. My daughter has a Big Kick and so I did some comparing online and can find no huge difference between the Big Kick and the Big Shot.

Therese