Whatever you are...

Good Morning,
The weekend did but wink and she was gone! Well, so it seems. I was in Warrington enjoying a fabulous workshop with Lynne Perrella and here I am already, back home, creeping into Monday morning as I type! I shall dive straight in with the low-down. At Simon Says Stamp & Show, we want to see your Stripes! I grabbed some delicious Glitz papers, some scrap cardboard and created a full on girly shadow bow.

I wanted to just simply play with bright colours, dimension and butterflies, so I ran with it... Is it too sweet or cute? Will folk wonder if I've gone a bit doo-lally with my feminine side? Well, it doesn't matter. I was feeling Girly. So be bold and stay true to yourself, I say!

I used some strong cardboard to create the frame which means I can chose the dimensions, very handy indeed! Here you can see the back piece already covered in Love Nest striped paper, the frame and I'm just starting to make the supporting 'walls' with cardboard  strips and cardstock  hinges.

Then onto 15 Wendy Vecchi flutteries. I stamped them, cut them out and inked up the reverse side.

Of course you can use a die but I am woman of few dies and I just love this shape! You could use the same idea with  flowers, Christmas stockings or even little animals if you wanted to create something for a child's room. Love how Distress Inks can change everything. I added a few simple words to some butterflies with my trusty, handy typewriter. I chose different people but you could use a saying, a song, a poem or prayer. Playing with words is such great fun.

The flowers are punched circles cut from the same paper as the frame but they have been distressed and darkened with Rusty Hinge. The centres are upholstery studs - just cut the long bit off before sticking! On the butterflies I used a lot of Stormy Sky and Bundled Sage to get the right shades and variation in tone.

To finish off I added just one simple but strong sentiment from Afternoon Muse by Glitz. The frame had been lightly sanded and aged with Vintage Photo.

I love the bright yellow colours of the frame and the individual butterflies so I didn't want to add anything more.

The butterflies are mounted on very small foam pads which aren't visible so they seem to float. Here's a quick peek from the side so you can see a bit more of the depth.

So there you go, a simple idea for a shadow box... How about a huge one with say 99 Grungy butterflies? There's a challenge for you...


Hop over to the Simon Says Stamp & Show to see some great striped inspiration from my team-mates. I'm looking forward to seeing your creative offerings!!! As always, there's a chance of a $50 spree and the bespoke Top Three Title. Don't be shy, give it a try...!

Thanks for taking time to visit my blog, I'd love to hear from you. Feel free to ask any questions and I'll do my best to sound smart!
Have a great week wherever you go...À bientôt, Sarah.