Slimline Butterfly Cards with Envelopes

I've been hooked on slimline cards ever since I discovered that it doesn't cost any more postage to mail this size envelope.  I think they look elegant and more interesting.  Anyway, the Tim Holtz stencil and stamp set seemed perfect for this style of card.  I started by applying Distress Oxide and Hero Arts oxide inks onto a piece of plastic wrap that was taped down to my desk.  Next I sprayed water on the inked plastic sheet and pressed watercolor paper onto the inks. I carefully lifted up the paper and gently blotted the excess ink.  I sprinkled water onto the inked watercolor paper and blotted again to reveal a distressed look.  I let the colored sheets dry overnight.

Using the Hero Arts Infinity rectangle dies I cut the panels and made folded card bases.  With the stencil I applied colored ink to reveal the patterned design.

Using a Misti tool (available from HM Ben Franklin Crafts) I was able to align the words just where I wanted them before applying embossing powder and melting it with a heat tool.  I stamped the butterflies using the Misti tool and was glad that I could re-stamp them several times to achieve just the color and look I wanted.  I used pink and silver embossing powder on the purple card and blue and copper on the green one.  It is a subtle look that doesn't really show up well in my photos.

I decided that regular business envelopes would not enhance the cards so I used my Whimsy envelope die set to make matching lined envelopes.  It's really is easy to do.  Perhaps the hardest thing was to find  color coordinating papers that weren't too thick.  I discovered that Japanese papers that come in large sheets are perfect for making envelopes.  Celebrations store (next to Mapunapuna HM BFC) has a pretty selection.  I think the extra effort to dye the papers before stenciling and stamping was worth it to achieve a unique one-of-a-kind card which can e used for any occasion.  Give it a try!