A Cut Above - day 5

I don't know about you, but when I grab my die cutting machine, I typically think of cutting paper.  In the A Cut Above class, the day 5 assignment was to cut materials other than paper.  I chose to cut sticky back canvas.  I thought there could be a problem with fraying, but the cut was actually really good.  I started by stamping flourishes from Paper Wings Productions Flourish Fun 2 set using the Snow Cap paint dabber onto the canvas. 

Two Notes: 1. I had placed the sticky back canvas directly to my non-stick craft sheet for this application.  Then I used a Peeled Paint distress stain to color the canvas and it resisted the paint.  2. When using an acrylic paint with your stamps, you need to wipe them clean immediately to protect your stamps.  If the paint dries, it is near to impossible to remove it.

After drying with a heat tool, I peeled the canvas off the craft sheet and stuck it on a manila tag to give it some stability (for fluffing the wings later) and then cut it with a butterfly die from Stampin' Up! This effect was nice, but after talking to Shay, I followed her advice and added some yellow gold lumiere paint to the center of the butterfly, brushing the paint out toward the wings, and then lightly brushed the gold paint around edges of butterfly too.  The antennae are created from two more stamps in the Flourish Fun 2 and the "tail" is a flourish from Flourish Fun 1.  I used some black gemstones from the body to finish it off.

I painted the background with a partial cloud stencil and a mixture of 2 shades of blue and white paint sponged to create a sky.  The sentiment (from the Butterfly Panel set)  is actually the second half of a stamp that is embossed in white. I cut the banner and topper myself.  The gold is even nicer in person.

I love doing these assignments because I keep trying to play with more of my supplies that I wouldn't typically use on cards.  I'm definitely starting to step out of the box. Maybe you can join me out here - it's a great place to create!

Julie